21 Letters
by chickenbutt301
Summary: Even though it started off as just extra credit. Even though they were complete strangers. Even though it took one month for a letter. They still wrote. Letters of Joy. Pain. Love. Hope. Life.
1. Letter One

So chicken is back! Yes, it's been just about mmm, around a month and half since i haven't updated maybe? Or maybe more...Oops. Sorry everyone for such the late update. But thank my good friend who's really been the one that's been nagging me to update. This story just kinda of popped up in my head during school and i had to pause in my writings of With Time to pursue this plot. Don't worry, i'm still keeping tabs on With Time, but just currently focusing on 21 Letters. It's a different kinda plot. So i hope you all like it! I wanted to do that whole 21 chapters theme but it'll probably be shorter and the chapters will come out fast...kinda like a prolonged one shot. haha. anyways, please read and review on how you guys like it!

**_21 Letters_**

**_ooo  
_**

**_Chapter One_**

**_o_**

**_o_**

**_o  
_**

Time seemed to be moving much to slow for Sakura's comfort at the moment. It was almost as if time was mocking her with its minute hand slowly…ever so slowly ticking with each agonizing second. And if she looked around the class, it seemed like there were mutual feelings about the room also. Sweeping the room back and forth, straightening up whenever the teacher glanced in her direction, Sakura continued on with daydreaming.

In this dream, she had imagined herself working as a doctor at the most prestigious hospital in all of Konoha. Once getting a career there, she would meet a fantastic man that she saved from the brink of death. To show his gratitude, he would take her out to dinner after he insisted countless times. Something almost like The Notebook. Classic.

The year was slowly coming to an end in her senior year of college. The days were growing longer and warmer with each breath inhaled. Sakura had already caught senioritis in her junior year of college! So knowing that summer, and therefore freedom, was less than a week away had Sakura in a very giving mood.

This was especially eminent when Sakura's ears perked up at her teacher's mention of an extra credit opportunity. Her GPA was already high enough as it was, but extra credit was never offered in college. Maybe if the work for those few extra points were simple, she would spend some time with it.

Technically Sakura was already set for the next few years already. She had been investing time in working at a hospital a few blocks down from this street, but her interview with Konoha Hospital was today and she seemed to be a nervous wreck.

But even so, she still listened with patience to her professor explaining the assignment.

The story happened to be that the professor's friend's son (confusing) was enlisted in training to become a Navy Seal and had been shipped off to another faraway town to begin training. In a short phone call home, he had told his parents they had taken away all personal belongings during the time of intense training.

Feeling extreme sympathy for her friend's son, the professor offered twenty extra credit points if the students just took some spare time to write encouraging words to the 'poor guy'.

Being cut off by the short bell, Sakura began to rise from her seat, making a beeline towards her friends.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Are you gonna do the extra credit?" Her long time friend, Hinata, asked while gathering up her bags.

"Mm…I'm thinking about it. Maybe if I have time."

Looking around the room, it didn't seem like anybody had really chosen to take up the given opportunity though. Walking towards the door with Hinata, Sakura spotted the address on the whiteboard her teacher had left up in case anyone had wanted to get it down.

"Coming Sakura?" Without realizing it, Sakura had slowed in her steps so she was a few good feet away from Hinata.

"Ummm…you go ahead Hinata-chan, I have to ask sensei a quick question."

Waving to her, Sakura made it seem like she was heading for her professor, but sneaking a glance behind her shoulder, the medic swerved over to the whiteboard while biting her lip.

'_Should I write one? I mean…it's extra credit points that I don't really need…but this guy must be having a hard time…'_ Making up her mind quickly when students for the next session began filing in, Sakura hastily jotted down the name and address.

Once safely off campus grounds and walking back towards her apartment, Sakura got a chance to really take a look at the address she had written down.

_Uchiha Itachi_

That name sounded so familiar…but so distant at the same time. Deciding not to ponder on it too much, Sakura clutched the piece of paper tighter in her hands before shoving it into her pocket.

* * *

"Haruno-san, you should get going! It's already two a.m.!" One of the long time nurses scolded the doctor softly.

"Ah…but I still have some more paperwork to get finished actually…"

"No! You are going home. No 'buts'."

Laughing softly at the woman's motherly nature, Sakura packed up her bag and thanked the nurse before returning home.

**

* * *

**

**

* * *

**

The whole letter thing was bothering her.

Upon arriving home, Sakura had routinely taken a shower and grabbed a power bar before curling up in bed with a few dozen scrolls to read. Even though it was already three in the morning at that time, her insomnia forced the young medic to run a reversed light and day track.

Pen scribbling furiously in her notes, her attempts to drown out the thoughts of a certain address failed miserably. With an irritated huff, Sakura opened her drawer a bit too forcefully before rummaging around inside until she located the scrap of paper.

The scrap of paper that held so much information but yet, held so little at the same time.

She would be, in all honesty, writing to this complete stranger all because of what? Sympathy? Curiosity? But Sakura knew it wasn't any of those feelings. It was just a feeling that writing to this Uchiha Itachi guy would seem like a good idea. He didn't know her, she didn't know him. It was a perfect doorway to escape from her current world.

Flipping to a new page in her notebook, Sakura spent the next two hours trying to make an, at least, half-decent letter.

Five A.M. and Sakura honestly thought she had gone insane. Taking _two full hours_ to write this little excerpt of communication to this man…

Scraps of crumpled up paper littered the ground all around the tiny trash bin in her room, everywhere except in the actual trash bin itself.

**0**

**0**

_Dear Itachi-san-_

Scratch that. Too informal.

_Dear Uchiha-san,_

_My name is Haruno Sakura._

Nope. Sounded like a third grader introducing themselves to their little buddy or something.

_Dear Uchiha-san,_

_Haha, you don't know me actually. I heard from my professor that you were in training to become a Navy Seal. So I decided to write you this letter. Well…she offered us extra credit actually, ya know my main mayun?_

Fuck that. The letter was just getting worse and worse.

It had taken the medic an hour into her frustrated writings when she realized that her heart was pounding the entire time. It seemed like she was so nervous that her hand as well as her mind had frozen up. Willing herself to calm down, her pen began to flow again. Her thoughts, even if some were aimless, were portrayed out into the letter.

Utterly too tired to reread what she had written, Sakura sealed it in the envelope before slapping stamps on it and shutting off the light.

* * *

**0**

The mailbox stared at her mockingly. It was morning and she had to go to work damn it! She shouldn't be standing in front of this blue box, glaring at it like a mad woman. Biting her lip, Sakura smoothed out the stressed creases in the tiny paper square that she had indented with her nervous fingers.

Then without giving her brain a chance to think, Sakura quickly shoved the envelope down the throat of the mailbox, giving it a smug smirk before walking off to work.

* * *

**0**

"Uchiha, you've got some mail." A deep voice rumbled from behind him.

Lifting himself from the cot he was currently on, the quiet man nodded his thanks to his friend while taking hold of the small bundle wrapped in string.

Rummaging through the various shades of envelopes, setting aside his mother's for later, he paused at one with a foreign address.

Haruno Sakura.

Itachi tried hard to remember a name like that, and when finding nothing, he slowly opened the sealed seems of the flap.

Reclining against a wall with a leg propped up, Itachi held the letter up to the light.

**0**

**0**

_7/26/10_

_Dear Uchiha-san,_

_So you probably took one look at the return address and, after searching through your list of acquaintances in your mind, realized that I was not one of them. But I hope I can earn a spot on the list soon. As you perceived from the return address, I'm Sakura, pleased to meet you. My origin of writing this letter was from my chemistry professor at Konoha University, Tanaka-sensei. She had told us of your situation in the training of becoming a Navy Seal and had encouraged us to write words of encouragement to you. I don't really know what else to say except work hard and make sure to keep your body healthy. I'm, truthfully, not that great of a person when it comes to having to come up with words of comfort…_

_But I believe you to be smart enough to at least have an inkling of suspicion as to why I am writing a letter to you, a random stranger. You should know the truth, and I believe that you will probably not be offended. Our professor urged us; well…more like bribed us with extra credit, to write to you. But I had some extra time left in my day so I decided I would give it a shot at writing to you. Sensei told us you had been deployed to Amegakure four months ago already. I'm not sure if your family updated you about Konoha currently, but just in case they haven't, I'll take some time to talk about that._

_The weather's nice outside for once. The sky is a perfect mixture of marshmallow clouds and warm summer sun. The winds offer only a slight breeze, but that's just the way I like it. The year is about to end for me and after that, I'll be free to explore the world as I wish. Konoha's alliances are currently steady amongst all other villages, except maybe the Mist village. Things seem like they're on shaky grounds at the moment, but I guess only time will reveal all._

_What is it like over there? Have you made any friends? (wow, I sounded like a mother there, haha) When do you get to return home from training? I'm not sure if these are questions that will be answered though. But you don't have to write back if you don't want to! I mean, I would completely understand of you not wanting to write to this person you've never even met. But even so, I hope you can return soon to your family safe. So make sure to look after your health, don't you dare get a cold! Drink water whenever you can to keep hydrated and energized! Keep safe!_

_Your Friend,_

_Haruno Sakura _

_P.S. I included some stamps inside the envelope just in case you didn't have any and wanted to write letters back to your friends and family!_

**_0_**

_**0**  
_

Reaching into the envelope, the Uchiha found that there were, indeed, flower stamps included.

This girl, a complete stranger, had been thoughtful enough to provide him these. And a lifesaver she was too, for the place he was in now did not provide stationary items to write.

Haruno Sakura.

She was blunt with her writing and he suspected that was her real nature in person. Knowing this about her gave him a good foothold on her personality. Most likely strong willed and capable, but kind at the same time. She hadn't pushed him for a response like most others usually do though. And he respected her for telling him the truth about her motifs for writing this letter. But even so, she had hinted at a response from him which meant she was going out of her way regardless of the extra credit to continue writing him.

Smiling slightly at the thought, Itachi slowly rubbed his eyes. After skimming through the letters from his relatives and closer friends, he hesitantly picked up this Sakura girl's letter and reread it again.

* * *

**0**

Soo, yea, it was pretty short. But i had to end it there because of what came up next and all...at least it wasn't on a cliff hanger! so, please review and give some feedback! Thank you! Oh right! and um. i had a question if someone could answer. Whenever i edit my chapters i try putting in dashes and all to stress the scene changes but everytime i save it, they disappear so i try using numbers... so if anyone knows how to solve this, that'd be wonderful! Thanks!

-chicken


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! sooooo as stated previously, i'm not gonna do the whole 21 letters 21 chapters theme cause i want to make this a short sweet story. Well. Shortish, haha. So each chapter will most likely contain more than one letter! I glad that i'm able to get these chapters out faster than before! So i please enjoy and review if you have the time! ^^

_**21 Letters**_

_**ooo**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**o**_

_**o**_

_**o  
**_

"You know Sakura, you should come out with us more often!" Ino, her childhood best friend, skipped down the deserted streets.

Sighing, Sakura chuckled a bit at her friend.

"You know I can't, Ino; especially now. Konoha Hospital is serious business and even though I'm officially in, doesn't mean I can slack. I want to gain their trust in me and keep good relations." Sakura responded dutifully, making Ino snort amusedly.

Even though grad school was over for the rest of her life, now work was going to be even harder.

Bidding goodnight to her friend, Sakura trudged into her apartment complex.

"Good evening Nako-san," Sakura greeted her old landlord, "any mail for me?"

Her landlord was always kind in the mornings. And though it was morning, Sakura didn't think 1 A.M. counted as 'morning' to him. Grabbing the small stack from her little cubby hole, she absent-mindedly shifted through. Just a bunch of bills and advertisements as usual.

She couldn't (more like wouldn't) admit to the fact that there had been an inkling of hope in her mind…but it was ok. He was this stranger to her and vice versa. It had already been two weeks since she had deposited that tiny letter into the mailbox and Sakura highly doubted anything was coming for her now. That one little flame of hope was extinguished as Sakura tiredly dragged herself to bed.

* * *

Getting back from work early for once, the medic nin trotted up the stairs. It had been a month already and things were now starting to flow smoothly. Sakura's colleagues were an enormous help to her and the patients were less fussy at this hospital for some reason.

Nako-san waved at her cheerily before returning to his newspaper. After a few seconds, the old man's poor memory returned to him as he stood up quickly, leaning his torso out of the glass window from his office.

"Ah, Sakura-san!"

Seeing the pink-haired woman turn with a questioning look on her features, he jabbed his finger at the cubby holes.

"You haven't cleaned out your mailbox in a week already! It's overflowing so much that the delivery man had to give me yesterday's mail."

Apologizing for her carelessness, Sakura shuffled the large stack of annoying letters in her arms, shoving a few into her bag while she was at it. Bills bills bills.

'_Stupid taxes.'_ Sakura glared at the ceiling.

Waving another goodbye to Nako-san, she hadn't taken two steps before her landlord called out to her again.

Slowly pivoting in a vexing manner, the medic gave a direct stare.

"If you're gonna scold me on forgetting to leave the milk bottles out on my doorstep, don't worry, I've got it covered." Sakura muttered dryly.

"No-I-There's extra mail for you from yesterday." She had obviously twisted the poor man's tongue for all he could do was wave a few envelopes meekly.

"Oh…thank you then." Sakura smiled sheepishly, embarrassed.

"And…what was that about the bottles?" Nako-san narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Nothing, Nothing!" Sakura laughed, running up the stairs as Nako-san's scolding echoed down the halls.

Finally changing into a pair of sweats and getting some food down her throat, the doctor curled up on the couch with the mind set of getting all those taxes paid.

First bill

Electric bill

Second bill

Water bill

Third bill

Rent bill

Fourth bill

Uchiha Itachi

Fifth-

'_What?'_

Flinging the current envelope out of her hand, Sakura grabbed up the previous one she'd been holding, jamming it up to her eyes to get a better look.

Yup.

She hadn't misread.

To: Haruno Sakura.

For a few minutes, she just sat limply on the couch, drinking in the site of the letter stamped with her pink blossom stamp. In taking a shaky breath, Sakura carefully ripped open the seal and unfolded the cream colored paper that smelled slightly like pinewood and a slight hint of aloe.

* * *

_8/17/10_

_Haruno-san,_

_I send you my sincerest thanks for the letter you have written to me. I was not offended at all by the true motivation for your writings, but actually was pleased with it. I have received letters from various strangers in my past six months stay in Amegakure but none have written as refreshing a letter as you have. I suspect it was my mother, Uchiha Mikoto, who has been mouthing around on the subject of my whereabouts. But for once, I thank my mother for her efforts, for it was from her origin that caused you to write. I also thank you for the stamps you had provided for if you hadn't, my only form of communication would be one telephone call every three months for two minutes._

_I return to Konoha in another year in the month of November. I hope we can still be in contact for my duration in this camp though. After living in the quarters of this compound, I realize that I have been pampered by my families living conditions. But I am adjusting to the conditions at the moment. Training , I admit, is very difficult to sustain and my close companions here have all fallen ill. But I will take your suggestion and hydrate my body well. Until next time._

_-Uchiha Itachi_

Even though it was as simple as that, Sakura spent the next hour staring at the letter. By the time she had finished memorizing every little detail, the moon had gone up as Sakura was now sprawled on her couch, letter held up towards the moonlight.

It had taken about ten days for the letter to send, a day or two for him to write back and send, ten more days for it to reach her. This all added to about one month.

He had really written back. In her mind, Sakura hadn't thought that this Uchiha Itachi would put any trust into this stranger.

Smiling after the shock had disappeared; a little giggle erupted from her lips. It was like second grade and Valentine's Day all over again.

He had implied that he wanted to be friends.

And that's exactly what she intended to be

* * *

It took about two days of thinking with her mind constantly straying to the neatly creased cream colored letter resting lightly atop her dresser.

Should she reply so soon? She didn't want to seem desperate or anything. But then again, one letter took almost a month to actually arrive at its destination.

But even with this fact, she was still slightly hesitant about writing so soon.

And then everything began to remind her of letters.

The notices posted up on the hospital bulletin board in the doctor's lounge. The beige colored stacks of paperwork staring at her from its location on her desk. The .05 nicely polished black ballpoint pen held in the pocket of her doctor's coat. Even her favorite Ichiraku's Ramen's menu looked like a damn letter!

So on a particular rainy Sunday when she wasn't called in to work, Sakura spent hours with the letter clutched in her hand, chewing the nails of her other hand. Looking insane as she walked around her living room in fuzzy bunny slippers, hair uncombed, shirt wrinkled, and with dark circles under her eyes, Sakura huffed out angrily before planting herself on the seat of her windowsill. Straining her arm until she reached a pen, the frustrated medic laid a hand on the stationery in front of her and with trembling hands, began to write.

* * *

_8/20/10_

_Dear Uchiha-san,_

_To tell you the truth, I was extremely surprised that you had written back to me. I admit that there was some hope in my mind, but that quickly diminished in two weeks when I hadn't received a response from you. But I understand how long it takes for a letter to send, so my impatient nature will have to be trained for now. School has officially ended and I will never have to take a class again for the rest of my already boring life. Now I currently just landed a job in the Konoha Hospital so things have been a bit hectic around here._

_The moment you told me about your friends' sicknesses', I immediately felt uneasy. You must take care of them in their worst time and most of all, take care of yourself. One time, my mom had left me home alone for a month and I had caught a fever. I felt like there was darkness around me that would never let up. It's the worst feeling to have to feel like you're dying and there's nothing you can do about it. So please comfort them and make sure they are eating enough! _

_But in the time that you are training in Amegakure, I definitely want to get to know you better. Tell me about yourself, anything and everything. Like what made you want to become a Navy Seal? Everybody has a motivation factor that led them to their certain career. Mine was my mother. She was also a doctor in her younger years and taught me when I was young. I hope my letters to you will be able to keep you company in your stay at Amegakure._

_Write Soon_

_Haruno Sakura_

Sakura sealed up the white envelope. The envelope that contained so much hope and necessity. It was her one and only way of communication to this mysterious guy she had never seen before. But in a way, she wanted to keep it like that. It was better not knowing. It was better like this.

Depositing the letter in the large blue mailbox, the medic began to walk to work, but not before shooting the mailbox a smug in-your-face grin. Realizing her stupidity in fighting with a nonexistent object, she laughed heartily into the morning air and ran off.

* * *

so i know it's going kinda slow, but at least it's going somewhere! I hoped you guys enjoyed it, even though it was short -_- (i'll try my best to make the chapters a bit longer) I'll get the next update out and about as soon as i can! so hang in there until then!

With Love

-chicken


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey guys! so its late and i had this chapter already written out sorta. it's extremely short so i'm so sorry about that but next chapter i promise will be a lot longer and more fulfilling! the plot seems to be getting no where at the moment, but it'll start to move quickly very soon! thank you everybody for your wonderful reviews and comments! read and enjoy~~!

* * *

_Chapter Three_

_***

* * *

_

0

0

The months began to carry on through the seasons slowly. The leaves changed colors forevermore as the weather created its own mood swings. Work for the medic was extremely chaotic and training for the weasel was strenuous. But they held on all for each other's letters. It was the only thing that really kept the two sane for the most part.

* * *

0

0

"Thank you for the great night Sakura-san"

"Haha, Dinner was nice, thank you Koichi…so i'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Of course. Bright and early!" Shooting her a cheeky grin, the man hesitated before leaning in.

_Itachi._

The thought occurred so suddenly that Sakura reacted on instincts and turned her head just in time for Koichi's kiss to land on her cheek.

"Good night!" Quickly flashing him a small smile, the pink-haired doctor speedily slipped into her apartment door before fastening the lock behind her as she pressed herself against the door.

_Why did Itachi's name pop into my head so suddenly?_

Exhaling a frustrated breath, Sakura slid to the floor slowly before shifting through the pile of mail that was under her arm.

Oh, a letter from Naruto-that should be nice to read. His mail always contained at least 5 pages of chicken scratch. But it kept Sakura happy for the time he was gone.

Sifting through more tax bills, Sakura literally squeaked upon reading the name of the sender of one small envelope.

* * *

_9/7/10_

_Haruno-san,_

_I apologize for the long time lapse between your letter and mine being sent in reply. I find it difficult to locate stationery around this area at the moment. It seems that the Generals share different beliefs than I do in terms of communication. But after coming across paper by chance in the dining hall, I have an adequate amount of writing utensils for a sufficient amount of time. _

_My friend has gotten better in the time of the arrival of your letter. I have sent your regards to him while he was recovering and I do believe that is what made him well again so quickly. It seems that you can work your medical miracles even at a distance. Thank you for being so concerned about our health, your advice has traveled a long way in this living space._

_I can also share your happiness in obtaining your long sought after goal to becoming a doctor. I wish you the best in the next years to come for I know that starting out will be very difficult indeed. But I am confident that you will excel rapidly and with ease. I would have preferred to be able to tell you that I chose to be a Navy Seal because of a long awaited dream. But at this time and place, I unfortunately, cannot. Being a Navy Seal has been a family tradition of sorts. To be more exact, being an Admiral is a family tradition for the Uchihas'. _

_If I had been able to choose out my own occupation, I would have pursued my desire to become a neurologist. War has never suited quite right with me but my family has given me no choice in the matter. So to make up for my lost dream, I hope you can bear the burden of mine as well and live out your career in the most enjoyable manner and share with me what it is like. _

_Uchiha Itachi_

_0_

Frowning at his letter, Sakura stared at the last paragraph for a few minutes. It would always pain her whenever somebody didn't get to fulfill their wishes. Her mom had always supported all of her decisions in life so the Itachi's situation was foreign to her.

Shuffling into the kitchen to brew herself a quick cup of jasmine tea, Sakura assumed her position at her desk and prepared for a long night of writing.

* * *

_10/1/10_

_Dear Uchiha-san,_

_Everybody has a choice in life. The only thing we do not have a choice over is dying. I wish I could tell you I understand what position you are in right now, but unfortunately, I have not been under your circumstances before. I wish I could feel your pain, but I do understand your sense of longing and wanting of freedom. _

_But we only have one chance in a lifetime. And by my beliefs, life is much too short to live out dreams other than your own. I know it sounds much too easy than in reality, but I think you should pursue your dream occupation. I think it's wonderful that you have the courage to put your family tradition in front of your own, but humans are born to be selfish creatures. And though you were born with a sense of duty and unselfish manner, I'm sure there is a part of you inside that is born to desire what you truly want. So please put my words under consideration, no matter how ridiculous they may seem to you! _

_Always, _

_Haruno Sakura_

_00_

_00  
_

Letting the corners of his mouth lift up, Itachi shifted on his bed to get a better look in the light. Everywhere around him was loud with the noise of the burly men surrounded him. The smell of sweat and dirt filled the quarters. He hadn't eaten or showered yet since he had immediately opened Sakura's letter upon entering his quarters from training. But in all of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding him, Itachi was able to find serenity and solace in this woman's writings.

It was then that he decided that he was going to meet her and begin to court her.

* * *

0

For once, everything in Sakura's life seemed to be going well. The doctors and nurses at the hospital were all very welcoming and she had earned respect in her position currently. Other than looking forward to ice cream Fridays with Ino, she had Itachi's letters to wait for also.

And the best part was when she was able to smirk at the rusty blue mailbox every few weeks while depositing her mail into its defeated mouth. Oh yes. Victory was sweet.

* * *

_10/16/10_

_Haruno-san,_

_It is indeed true when you state that everything is said easier than done. Life is undeniably much too short and I do believe many should seize the opportunity to pursue their dreams. However unfortunate for myself though, I feel as though I cannot break away from tradition. The walls that have surrounded me my entire childhood are currently still intact. Believe me when I say how I have longed every waking minute for that imaginary wall to be broken down. But at the same time, I do find myself questioning if I would want that wall broken. It seems that it is my security foothold; something to hold onto in case all else fails._

_One day I still do hope to follow after my sought after career. Perhaps once I am dismissed from the battle grounds will I then gather the courage. But as of now, I must stay in my current position until further notice._

_After this talk about my career, I feel that it is only fair that the course of the subject is directed towards you now. I still find myself wondering sometimes what had driven you to write to a complete stranger. My childhood and yours, I am certain, have been most diverse from one another's. We have been brought up in different manners and I am curious, if you so shall allow, to hear about your younger days of happiness for I am sure they far exceed the expectations of my own._

_Uchiha Itachi_

_

* * *

_

_-_His indeed.

From the very first moment Sakura had decided to take up that extra credit assignment.

* * *

yes yes. this is indeed a very very short chapter -_- and i just hate writing small chapters cause i know they're never quite that fulfilling! but i'll update soon with a longer, better, more plot driven, rivoting chapter hahhaa! thank you for reading!

-chicken


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey guys! so i have updated again! i hope that this chapter is longer than last chapter, just like i promised! haha, ummm finals are over so this is week for me has been pretty chill...although i know that next week is getting get pretty busy with a bunch of tests, but no worries! even amongst all the chaos, i'll still try to find some time and write and continue through! i also want to thank all of you guys soooo much and for all of those who reviewed! your comments make my day so much brighter and make me want to write even more. i was actually really surprised by how many reviews i got for the last chapter and it made me so excited that i just wanted to post the next chapter up as soon as i could! hahaha so please read and enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter 4_

_

* * *

_

The first snow cascaded down in gentle sheets of white wonder as Sakura's world was soon encompassed in a light sheen on frost. The days were extremely cold, and the nights were even colder. It was one of these days that she awoke to on a Sunday morning that made her curl up even deeper into her bed sheets and wish that someone was next to her to provide some warmth.

But there wasn't.

Groaning softly at the realization of her situation, the pink-haired doctor stuck half of her face out of the confines of her blankets, wincing as the coldness hit her exposed skin.

Don't get her wrong or anything. She absolutely loved the snow and everything about the winter. All except for the penetrating ice cold weather that always hit her part of the city particularly hard. And she knew she had to go get groceries today since she hasn't had a decent meal in quite a while with all the extra shifts in the hospital taking up her meal times.

**00**

"I need milk." Sakura mumbled as she awkwardly shouldered her bag while carrying her basket full of items.

"And jasmine tea…or should I try something new? Lemon tea?...maybe lavender…" Rummaging through the selection of teas, Sakura started slightly when she heard her name being called. Turning her head, Sakura smiled widely with a small expression of surprise.

"Sensei! Long time no see!" Giving a shoulder hug, Sakura pulled back and laughed.

"I know I know! I heard around town that you're now a doctor at the Konoha Hospital! Congratulations! It must have been my amazing teaching skills." Her sensei exclaimed with a hint of sarcasm while laughing.

"Haha, of course sensei. Of course."

Then hearing a small jingle of laughter, Sakura turned her head to finally notice the woman that stood beside her teacher.

Oh kami was she beautiful.

Long black hair, friendly deep onyx eyes, and a tall slender figure stood slightly behind her teacher.

"Oh! Sakura, you did that extra credit assignment didn't you?"

Finally pulling her eyes away from the woman, Sakura looked up.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I did actually."

"That's great actually! Because this is the mother of the man you wrote to. Sakura, this is Mikoto Uchiha. Mikoto, this is my student Sakura. You know the extra credit assignment I was telling you about? She's one of the students that wrote to him!"

Mikoto's eyes shined brightly as she smiled widely.

"Oh my! So you are the great Sakura! I've heard so much about you! Itachi-chan actually wrote home exclaiming about how heartful it was that you still keep in contact with him even though it was originally just for an extra credit assignment!"

Laughing, Sakura was startled when Mikoto suddenly pulled her into a tight motherly hug that almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Your son is a very nice and intelligent man, I couldn't possibly have stopped on just the first letter!" Laughing lightly, Sakura scratched the back of her head. Itachi told his mom about her? Dampening down the bubble of hope that was starting to form in her mind, Sakura smiled.

"Oh! How kind of you to say. He mentioned to me how you were very kind with your words."

"Actually, Itachi may be back for the holidays in a month and I'm sure he'd be delighted to see you!"

"…Itachi's going to be here? In this city?" Laughing at Sakura's confused expression, Mikoto patted her shoulder.

"Haha, yes of course. He told me he may or may not. It depends on the active duty roster."

"Oh wow…that's great…."

Excusing herself after a few more minutes of conversation, Sakura rushed back home with her groceries, forgetting all about her tea.

* * *

00

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_11/7/10_

_Dear Itachi-san, _

_Sorry for my late response to your last letter, the hospital has seemingly gotten much busier since the last time I wrote to you. Oh! And I met your mother today at the market! My teacher was out shopping with her and I got the great chance to meet her. She's such a lively and kind person that it startled me at first haha. But she told me that you might be coming back for the holidays! Is it true? But for now everything in my life seems to have just been put on fast forward with no stop button. Even though I've only been in my new career for a couple of months, it feels tiring. Sometimes when I really think about my work, I get scared. I'm frightened with knowing that there really is no pause button in my hospital shifts. I can't exactly tell death to 'come back in another week or so'. And on top of that, my best friend is getting married! My joy for her is radiating off of my pen as I write because of her new found happiness in life. We used to grow up as rivals actually because of this stupid thing. But when we grew up…I guess nothing else mattered anymore except that we were happy._

_Ino (my best friend) really deserves being so happy with her soon-to-be husband. His name is Shikamaru and he is such a lazy ass. But in a good way. He definitely isn't one of those guys that wear their hearts on their sleeves, but his intentions are good. When she was pining after another guy, it was always Shikamaru that would be there to comfort her whenever she broke up with a guy. And then one day, I guess everything just clicked. Haha, even though I know that Shikamaru would never hurt her intentionally, I remember pulling him away for a moment and threatening to do horrible things to him if he ever did. But I know I'll never have to. Oh! And, they're about to have a baby! I just found out yesterday; she's four weeks along already! She promised me that I would be the one to do her first ultrasound. _

_As for my childhood…I'm not really sure it's anything that exciting. I've been raised in Konoha my entire life. My family for most of my life mainly consisted of just my dad and me. Mom passed away when I was four. But even though she died when I was so young, I still remember practically every day spent with her. She, my dad, and I would used to hold picnics during cherry blossom season every single day. I still do that know even though my dad's gone-he passed away a couple of years ago due to kidney cancer, but it gives me solace to know that my mom and dad are together again in heaven and watching over me. I lived with my best guy friend Naruto until I was 18 and then moved out. His parents left him in front of the hospital doorsteps when he was a baby so he's also been on his own too, much more so than myself. But I think we all turned out quite all right! Haha, sort of. _

_As the years pass, I do have to admit that sometimes it gets really lonely. But it's especially tough in the winter time when it's cold and empty in my apartment. Naruto's currently apprenticing under Jiraiya-san to become a weapon maker so I don't get the opportunity to see him that often. The winter time is always a tough time to go through because there's no one really here to talk to. But i'm starting to make a few friends in the hospital (I sound like I'm in kindergarten trying to find friends in school haha). Sometimes I wish I could just be like a bear and hibernate through the winter and wake up in the beautiful spring air. But winter time is nice-the scenery is absolutely stunning with the pure white snow everywhere and all of the holiday lights are up. _

_What about your winter? How is everything there in Amekagure? I know it won't be as comfortable as it is at home, but is it at least bearable? How's your health right now? Remember to always wear a lot during the winter and wear socks to bed to keep your feet warm! The worst thing would be to catch a cold especially in the winter and especially while your training! I hope that you and your friends there can celebrate the holidays and that all is well over there. Tell me everything about your winters. Everyone's experience with this season is different and it's always so interesting to see how they spend it. I'm not sure when I'm going to get your next letter and when I'm going to send my next one, but if I don't catch your letter before Christmas, then I hope you a very wonderful Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. (hopefully you'll be back for the holidays though!) My present to you- a kiss on the cheek from under a mistletoe haha. It's very lame, I know, but I hope it's the thought that counts!_

_Always,_

_Haruno Sakura_

_00  
_

The long letter was carefully folded and sealed into her usual white envelope with a tiny cherry sticker on the flap.

Though it took some time to comprehend, but Sakura finally realized how much comfort she took in writing out to Itachi. In her current world with everyone gone, it felt like he was the only one that she could go to…or wanted to go to. Just his seeing his letters filled with words, any words at all, was a relief to her. And just in the past few months, she was already wanting to write him a letter everyday to tell him what interesting things happened down at the hospital. But quickly shaking off the odd thought, Sakura quickly took a shower before getting into the shelter of warm covers in her bed.

* * *

00

00

"Doctor Haruno, you have a call for you on line one"

"Thank you Ami, I'll take it from here." Picking up the receiver , the busy doctor fiddled with her notepad.

"Sakura Haruno here."

"Hey Sak! It's me Naruto!"

Nearly choking on her own spit, Sakura stood up straighter, clutching the phone to her ear closer.

"…Naruto! Oh my kami, haha. What…where are you!" Smiling, Sakura looked around to make sure nobody was looking at her currently goofy manners.

"I got in town just now. Jiraiya let me have a vacation for a week before getting back to training! Where are you?"

"I'm in the hospital right now actually."

"WHAT! OHMYGOD, are you ok! Fuck! I need to…."

Sakura laughed heartily at her friend's incessant cursing as she let him panic for a minute before cutting him off.

"I'm a doctor here you idiot!" Laughing, she thanked Naruto as he congratulated her at least five times in a row.

Hearing her beeper go off, they made quick plans to meet for dinner before hanging up and returning to work.

This day was turning out to be brighter already.

* * *

00

00

"Damn Itachi, why do you even need this much paper to write?"

"…I assume that it is in your knowledge that in order to send a letter, one must first have paper to write on."

"Oh don't get sassy with me! I'm the one buying you the stamps!"

"And for that I am eternally grateful for."

"Ugh, don't give me any of your fancy schmancy crap. Who are you writing to anyways? A _woman_?"

"…"

"…perhaps."

"HAH. You! The great and almighty Uchiha Itachi. Writing to a girl? You never keep fan girl letters, what makes this girl any different?"

"….she is not a fan girl."

"Well she better be worth it for all of the stationery you've been stealing from the general's office."

Sighing, Itachi stealthily slipped out of the general's office with a small stack of paper and envelopes, looking up at his friend.

"She most certainly is Shisui….she certainly is…" Trailing off, the weasel carefully tucked his stolen materials under his coat before walking back to the quarters in the cold snow with Shisui silently chuckling beside him.

00

00

"Hey, Uchiha! You've got mail"

Pausing in their footsteps, the cousins looked up at the man approaching them.

"Which one Genma?" Shisui asked.

"Pahaha, like _you'd_ get any mail with that face of yours" Ducking said-man's half-hearted punch, Genma laughed as he handed Itachi a small white envelope. Giving him a pat on the back, Genma winked at him.

"Looks like you've been sending some love letters or something?"

"….Thank you Genma." Itachi said courteously before walking away, noting the two men's snickering as he went to the confines of his bunk.

Turning the letter over, Itachi let a small smile grace his lips as he caught sight of the small red cherry sticker posted at the top right hand corner. Just like always.

It seemed like through all the painful training and tiring drills, Sakura's letters were the only things keeping his life sane at the moment. The winters were cold and they were even colder in Amegakure. The generals were all very strict in this section and drilled them even through snowstorms. He already knew his shoulder was in bad shape ever since he caught it on the climbing poles one day, but there was no reason to tell his pen pal of this little situation for it would only raise her stress levels.

It was just the thought of her that kept his stay here better. It was currently the first day of December. Thinking more optimistically, it was less than a year before Itachi could return back to Konoha. He would count the days until he was able to meet his friend.

* * *

00

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_12/1/10_

_Dear Sakura-san,_

_I am glad to hear that your friend is a bride-to-be. Please send her my note of congratulations. The winters in Amegakure are even colder than Konoha if you can imagine that. The generals seem to love this weather because I find myself training even more during this season. I'm waiting for the day of spring when I am able to lay my eyes on the first blooming of a cherry blossom. But before I continue, I have recently come to the realization that I do not have the knowledge of your appearance even though I have been writing to you. It would give me great pleasure to be able to picture you in my memory for when we meet. _

_It is true that winter can indeed become a most lonesome season, but the weather is still appreciable. My winters as a child were not the most exciting but I remember it as a time of happiness. My family, the Uchiha's, is a very large clan and we are all housed in the same compound so our community of family is closely knit. My mother has always been fragile to the cold and because of that, my father had always restricted our holiday festivities to the confines of the inside warmth. My little brother and I would always build a snowman outside of our compound even though I insist that we are growing much too old for these activities. _

_The days are shorter and nights colder during the winter, but the view in this city is most beautiful. The snow has draped over the city like a pure white blanket of amazement. I feel that you are more fortunate to wake up to quietness. In my current quarters, many of the men here do not exactly have the most pristine of sleeping manners, but I understand your views. Sometimes it is just a loved one's presence in the house that fulfills your needs. My heart goes out to you in your times of loss and I do wish you can find peace and happiness in the company of your loved ones. It seems that there is a possibility that I will be released for the holidays to travel back to Konoha. If I am given the chance, I most certainly would like to have dinner with you one night. The winters are always cold and lonely, but your letters help make my stay here in Amegakure more bearable. _

_Sincerely, _

_Uchiha Itachi_

_

* * *

_

00

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Saturday mornings were always the best. A nice hot cup of coffee and a slice of toast with the newspapers under the warm covers of her bed was the best. Currently stretched out like a lithe cat, Sakura lifted up the first pages of her newspaper to-

Cursing as the phone rang, Sakura sighed and set down her paper angrily. Deep breath.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Sakura?"

"…Yes, who is this?"

A quiet laugh sounded from the receiver end and Sakura's heart stopped.

"Oh! Mikoto-san! Hi, oh wow…" Coffee and paper totally forgotten, Sakura sat up in bed, running a hand absently through her pink tresses.

"Yes, I received a letter from Itachi-chan saying that he'll be able to visit us for the holidays and I was just wondering if you'd like to join us for a Christmas dinner."

"Oh! That's such a gracious offer Mikoto-san, but I wouldn't want to barge in on a family dinner."

_Psh. Yea you do._

" No worries Sakura! It would be our pleasure to have you join us for dinner. I'm sure Itachi will be ecstatic once he hears of this!"

"Well…if it's really no trouble, then it'd be my pleasure to join you…when will dinner be?"

"Itachi gets back this Thursday and I was thinking of dinner on Saturday at six, how does that sound?"

"That's perfect, thank you so much Mikoto-san"

"Oh, thank _you _Sakura-chan. It's been so long since Itachi's been able to make a friend…a girl in that case." Hearing her laugh, they quickly said their goodbyes before hanging up.

For a few minutes, Sakura stared limply at the wall.

_I'm going to see Itachi in a week._

_Oh my kami._

Finally realizing this, Sakura suddenly let out a loud high pitched squeal before throwing the blankets over her head and thrashing about wildly in excitement. This weekend was the best weekend ever.

* * *

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"So you've been writing to this random guy…fine, you're _teacher's friend's son_", Naruto exclaimed in an exasperate voice when Sakura shot him a glare, "…that was originally just for extra credit?" Naruto nodded his head sarcastically, taking a gulp of his drink.

"Naruto! He's not random. I don't know…he's just so different. He's so polite and kind, and there's so much more to him than just what's on the outside…unlike _some_ people I know."

"Hey!"

"Hay is for horses Naruto." Sakura chimed in idly, taking a sip of her cosmo.

"_And_ you're joining them for Christmas dinner...that's quite a far jump. Meeting the parents before meeting the guy…new strategy." Cracking up, the blonde quickly fell into silence with a smack on his head.

"For your information, Itachi's going to be there also! He gets back Thursday."

"…Itachi?...as in Uchiha?"

"…Yea…how'd you know?"

"Don't you remember Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha? He's our age…we went to the same academy."

A sinking feeling deposited itself inside of Sakura's stomach as she began to put two and two together.

"Oh kami…why didn't you ever tell me that Sasuke had an older brother!"

"_Everyone_ knows about Itachi"

"_Well obviously I didn't!"_ Sakura hissed, inching her face closer to her friend. Heart pounding, Sakura groaned, rubbing her temples in an attempt to alleviate _some_ of the pain already forming.

"Kami, this is going to be awkward. I-I haven't even spoken to Sasuke in years ever since highschool…oh my …"

Sasuke Uchiha.

The man that ruined her friendship with Ino. The man that she pined after her entire high school career. The man that rejected her confession. But now that she was older and had time to look back, it seemed reasonable. She had to admit, she was freaking _annoying_ in high school- a boy obsessed nerd that bordered on the point of stalking sometimes too. But that was long gone and over and her habits were different now. Just don't make it awkward during dinner. That's all.

_Hah. Yea right._

Moping even further, Sakura mumbled a quick goodbye and a promise to meet up later with Naruto before hastily leaving the small café.

* * *

00

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"Black. Green….Black…Green…..Black."

Tossing the emerald green dress onto her bed, Sakura began to slip into the chosen black dress before throwing on her cardigan and shoes. She was so nervous that she'd finally be able to meet Itachi that it was mind numbing.

What does he even look like?

Since he's Sasuke's brother…he must have some sort of resemblance to him, right? Maybe really tall and lean…or shorter and stalky. Is his hairstyle the same as Sasuke's?...hopefully different.

Snickering quietly to herself, Sakura glanced at herself once more in the mirror before going down her hallway.

She's finally going to see him. How would she greet him? Maybe with a hug? Or a kiss on the cheek?

It didn't really matter because all Sakura could think of was how she was _saved._ He had finally come to pull her out of the confined bubble in her life that was slowly suffocating her. The bland and boring life that she's been living in for the past year will finally be lifted off when she sees him. He's her savior; the key to out of this life.

Just a few more minutes-

Interrupting her thoughts, her phone gave out a quiet ring. Hopping over a stack of magazines, Sakura excitedly answered the phone.

"Hello, Haruno Sakura speaking!"

"Sakura-chan dear? Hi, it's Mikoto!"

"Oh, Mikoto-san! Hello there, I was just almost on my way over."

"Actually Sakura, I'm so sorry to tell you that I'm afraid that Itachi won't be able to make it back for Christmas holiday. He called me just now saying that his general has decided to extend his quarter's training period and they have been deployed to another city for this training."

It was then that her world seemed to crash back down.

"Oh.."

00

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Limply hanging up the receiver, Sakura slowly, dazedly, slid to the floor in a heap.

In the cold winter of her house, Sakura curled up on the carpet and cried until all she could hear was the pounding of her desperate heart and the sound of bitter Christmas carols.

* * *

Sooo that was it! i really hoped you guys liked it and i hope the story line went...somewhere at least! haha, please comment if you have the time! thank you everyone for all of your support!

-chicken


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update! I know chapters and progress is going really slow and i also hate that there's no physical interaction between the two! But the story will soon progress and i promise it'll be more exciting! haha, so hang in there with me! thank you again to everyone supporting this story and commenting, you guys are wonderful wonderful people! thank you and enjoy!

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ooo

_Chapter 5_

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"Ok _Mrs. Nara_. Hop up onto the exam bed and let's get started." Lightly laughing, the pink-haired doctor helped the very _very_ pregnant woman onto the bed.

"Why yes Sakura, I'll just hop my fat ass onto this bed and we'll just go skipping along happily! Well you know what? I'm obese with this kid inside of me, it won't stop kicking me, and I swear I'm going to rip off someone's head if this baby comes out looking like Shika!" The very pregnant Ino hissed at her best friend.

Merely laughing at her best friend's temper tantrum and mood swing, Sakura patted Ino reassuringly.

"There there you _poor poor baby_." Ducking an angry swipe from the soon-to-be mother, Sakura began to apply lubrication gel onto Ino's large stomach with the ultrasound. For a few minutes, all you could hear was the quiet thrum of the machine warming up and the outside rustling of leaves as Sakura concentrated on the machine's screen.

"So, how've you been since Christmas? You know, with the whole dinner…event." Ino awkwardly and gently asked Sakura. They both knew it was a sensitive subject to touch upon, but ever since that night, Sakura had shut herself up in her room with no outside contacts except for work. It wasn't until recently that Sakura had recovered from the news and returned to a somewhat normal schedule once again. On the night of the cancelled Christmas dinner though, after Sakura had pieced herself together, she had clumsily located a pen and paper to write. As her words flowed, her nerves had calmed down increasingly until she was able to think clearly. Eventually, she was able to realize that in all due time she was still going to see Itachi one way or another when he came home. It just wasn't going to be this soon. All she had to do was wait, be patient, and thank kami that he was alright out there. But ever since Mikoto had told her that Itachi had been deployed to another city, it had taken longer than usual for a letter of his to arrive. Maybe he just didn't have time to write where he was, that was understandable. She'd just wait. Hopefully she would hear from him soon enough.

"Um…I'm hanging in there alright. It shocked me at first but I realized that I'm still going to see him eventually, you know? Maybe, in a way, it was just kami telling me that it wasn't time for me to meet Itachi yet."

"Yea…maybe…or…you know, just bad luck"

The two of them subtly glanced at each other before snorting out laughter.

00

* * *

00

"I don't understand how you still have all that…._energy_ to still write pretty little letters to your pretty little woman after all….this….training." Shisui gasped out as he unceremoniously dumped himself on his bed beside Itachi's.

" It is a little something the world calls perseverance-a word most likely not to be found in your itinerary of vocabulary."

"Hey! Just because you've got a girlfriend to write to, don't think you're so high and mighty baby cousin!"

"She is certainly not my girlfriend. And if you had not tried to shorten your amount of training by cutting through the shrubbery, then maybe the generals would not have given you extra laps."

Finally defeated, Shisui glared at his younger cousin, muttering a few insanities before throwing the covers over his head.

Smirking at the well-deserved quietness that Itachi had finally achieved, he pulled out Sakura's previous letter to him written on Christmas day. There had been a few questionable blurred marks on the paper that had taken him a few extra seconds to identify and caused him to wonder why there were spots of crinkled blurriness on the paper there in the beginning. Shrugging off the thought, he propped a book under her letter and angled it in the dim headlight to get a reading.

00

* * *

_12/25/10_

_Dear Itachi, _

_So it's Christmas night right now and I was just about to head over to your place to spend dinner until Mikoto called me just as I was leaving my apartment and informed me that you were deployed to another city at the last minute for more extensive training. I was going to say that I was fine and everything, but that would be a lie. Truthfully, it was so disheartening to gain the fact that I wasn't going to be able to see you for the holidays after all that I just sat in the middle of my hallway for an hour or so still in shock. But I'm trying to make this situation into a positive one by thinking that maybe it was all in kami's plan. Maybe kami didn't think that it was the right time for us to meet. No matter how tempting it is to finally be able to meet you, maybe things turned out like this for a good reason. I'm still not sure what that reason is, but I guess time reveals all eventually, right? I guess, at this point, I just really want to hear your voice. It'd feel comforting- your letters are very comforting also though! I still need to thank you so much for all the time you take to still write to me even though I know you're probably (most definitely) exhausted from all the training you've been doing. How are the generals treating you? I hope that the conditions there aren't too harsh and that you're still looking after your health. _

_And the thing about appearances, haha. That inquiry in your letter made me laugh a bit actually because the other day I was also wondering what you looked like. I had recently met up with my friend Naruto, the guy I told you about who I lived with for a little bit. He came back for a short visit and I told him about you and he recognized your name and associated it with Sasuke Uchiha. I was so shocked because I had no clue that Sasuke was your younger brother. I knew Sasuke when we were in grade school together but I never knew his last name until Naruto sprung that new fact on me haha. And then I began to wonder what you looked like and if you looked somewhat like Sasuke. The last time I saw him, he was this broody, dark, chicken-butt haired, guy in highschool that had all the girls surrounding him on a daily basis. So I began to wonder what you looked like, so I'd help…assuage my curiosity if you also gave a description of yourself too! Haha. Well for me though…I have unusual appearances…I guess you would say. I have pink hair for starters. Yes. Pink. You read correctly….pink. Not like…hot HOT pink, sorta like a lightish pink and its long. My mom had strawberry blond hair and my dad had this auburn color and I guess it kinda just mixed. As for my eyes, I took after my dad and got his green eyes although I'd say his were much more beautiful than mine. Um…I'm average height, 5'4 and I've got this disgustingly translucent tinge to my skin. No matter how much I try to sun bathe, I always end up getting sunburnt and looking like a steamed shrimp for the next few weeks. So I tend to stay out of the sun. _

_But I guess that's alright because I spent most of my days indoor reading books at the Konoha Library. I think that's my absolute most favorite place in this city aside from the hospital to be in. You strike me as a reader so I assume that you've been there before. The tall window wall and the whole Victorian like furniture and room style is just so amazing and the books are all antique and well used. Haha, I guess if you're ever wondering where I am, you can always find me there at the library. So how was your Christmas? Did they give you some good food at least? I hope that you spent it along with your friends happily! Today's Christmas so I know this isn't going to reach you until after New Year's and I'm kinda sad about that too, but I guess we just gotta make the best of what we've got! Haha, looking upon it now, I can't believe that we've been writing it each other for four months already! I still want to know so much about you though. Even the little things about you, I want to hear about this. Stories of happiness, laughter, even pain also. I always believed in strong friendships built on shared memories. I hope everything is going well over there. Work is starting to become more hectic since it's nearing New Year's but I'll most definitely always have time to read your letters (no matter how hopefully long they will be) and respond to them as soon as I can. So have a wonderful and happy New Year's Itachi, I'm so happy to have been able to meet and become friends with a guy like you! (and it's all in letter form. I think we should get some special award for that too! Haha)_

_Love, _

_Sakura_

_

* * *

00  
_

The best part of the letter was the tiny little picture included at the bottom of the envelope showing Sakura in her best sun dress smiling up at the camera. And with that picture tucked in his pocket, he was able to imagine her laugh, her smile, her everything.

Looking out at the window across the room, Itachi stared out into the blistering cold winter night as the snowfall became even heavier. Indeed, New Year's had passed several days ago already. Wondering how Sakura spent her New Year's Eve, Itachi reached down and pulled out a box from under his bed. Opening it quietly, he pulled out a blank sheet of paper and his pen that was slowly running out of ink. Frowning, he mentally noted to "borrow" another one from his general soon.

00

Scanning over the letter one more time, Itachi's eyes paused on the Christmas dinner. Learning that she had received his mother's call right before Sakura was about to leave made Itachi's brow crease in displeasure. A sudden annoyance directed towards his generals appeared for having troubled himself and his loved ones with the inconvenience. If Itachi didn't know any better, he would have suspected the generals of purposely relocated their training grounds. Not too long after his unit had been moved, had they been returned to their old unit, saying that the weather conditions were not suitable enough.

* * *

00

00

Meow.

So fluffy….

And soft…

And purring…

Purring.

Snapping her eyes open, Sakura shifted her head only to be wacked with a long white very _fluffy_ tail. Rubbing her nose irritatingly, Sakura groaned as she watched her little kitten snuggle up to her head. It was all Naruto's fault. On the day after Christmas, he had unexpectedly showed up on her doorstep with a small ball of fluff wrapped in his jacket.

"_Sakura-chan! Look what I found!" _

_Cursing Naruto mentally for interrupting her relaxing stage, Sakura trudged to the door before heaving open the heavy mahogany. _

_Upon opening the door, Sakura found a very tall, snow covered, _shirtless,_ loud blonde-haired friend on her doorstep with a bundle of some sort wrapped in his arms._

_Taking a bite of her mango calmly, the pink-haired medic took her time to chew and swallow._

"_First off, you're supposed to be with Jiraiya-san. If he finds out you ran away again, I'm not gonna cover for you."_

_As Naruto opened his mouth, Sakura interrupted once again._

"_And second, if that's a pack of ramen you're keeping in your jacket then dear kami I will kick your ass all the way into Suna." Seeing Naruto smile widely, he opened his mouth but once again, was interrupted. But not by Sakura, rather by a small purr coming from the ball of jacket._

_Eyes widening, Sakura and Naruto looked down at the bundle. _

"_Uzumaki Naruto! Is that a _cat_?" _

"_Sakura-channn, it was in the snow all alone! I couldn't just leave it!" _

_Opening and closing her mouth, Sakura finally decided to huff as she reached over and picked up the small kitten. It was pure white. She was surprised that Naruto even managed to find it in all this snow. The small kitten was as white as snow. _

"_It's a late Christmas present Sak. Merry Christmas." Naruto stated quickly, laughing cheekily. Looking up at her best friend, Sakura smiled apologetically, feeling a tear prick the corner of her eye. _

"_Thanks Naruto." Sakura laughed as she pulled him down for a hug and kiss on the cheek._

Sighing, Sakura picked up the little kitten, earning her a tiny meow of displeasure. But that was soon muffled as Sakura settled her fluffy pet under the covers against her stomach. Hearing Mimi-chan purr in contentment, Sakura laughed quietly, feeling her soft tail swish across her stomach.

Despite her small moment of laughter, Sakura suddenly sneezed, groaning immediately afterwards.

Yup. She should've washed her hands with soap after that little girl had come in for a check-up yesterday…

The one time she decided not to wash with soap and she had gotten sick. Mentally scolding herself as a mother would scold a child, Sakura sniffed. It was Thursday. She should be at work, not in bed.

* * *

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"Get _up_ Sakura. You've been in the bed for the past week!" Ino burst into her room, frustrated by her friend's unmoving form under the bundles of blankets.

"nghh fweeep phig…" A muffled sound came from under the covers.

"Come on, I even bought you some food. You need to get out and get some…fresh air."

"In case you haven't noticed pig, I'm sick." Sakura stated irritatingly as she pulled the covers off her head.

"You haven't even been taking your medication or anything and…kami, Sakura. Go take a shower." Ino paused in disgust as she backed away from Sakura's bed.

"I'll be in later to check on you. I want you washed, bed made, full, and in the living room by the time I come back." Ino told her sternly before rushing out of her room.

Before fully exiting though, Ino paused a moment as she rummaged inside her purse, finally pulling out a stack of mail.

"By the way, the landlord was starting to get all antsy about your growing pile of mail." Throwing a large bundle of letters onto the bed, Ino left quickly.

Feeling the heavy weight of mail on her legs, Sakura sighed and heaved the stack towards her, immediately throwing to the side her bills and taxes.

'_Maybe Itachi wrote!'_ the sudden thought occurred to Sakura as she began to flip faster through her stack of mail. But as she neared the end of her pile, her hopes began to quickly diminish. Reaching the last couple, Sakura flipped miserably through them, taking only a half-hearted glance at the sender before tossing it aside.

'_You idiot, you just passed by Itachi's letter clueluess.' _Having her inner mind whack her on the head, Sakura 'eeped' before making a mad dash towards all of her mail, trying to unscramble the mess (which really only served to mix it up even more). Finally spotting a pale yellow envelope with her new friend's name, Sakura lunged for it before pressing the letter up to her face.

_Uchiha Itachi._

"WOO!" Doing a small happy dance in bed with all her sickness forgotten, Sakura took a deep breath before excitedly opening the letter. The sound of tearing paper never sounded so heavenly as of right now.

00

_1/22/10_

_Dear Sakura,_

_Before continuing any further, I would first like to apologize for all the trouble I have caused you on Christmas Day. My general had unexpectedly relocated our squad to another headquarter suddenly. It also came to me as a disappointment that I was not able to meet you. But I feel compelled to agree with your belief that Kami has an act in this. Your letter, although received early, was a pleasurable Christmas present for me to read. On Christmas Eve, if I remember correctly, my general put us through an extensive training for the day as he said "my heart-filled gift to you". I do admit that that saying required me to laugh at the ridiculous tone. But on Christmas day, the entire unit was let a day off and I spent it with my friend's and cousin. _

_As for my inquiry about your appearance, I have received the photo of you. Regardless of how you may view your rather unique attributes, I find them very accommodating on you. Your hair color fits your personality very well, as does your eyes. If it was within my abilities at the moment, I would provide you with a photo of myself also. But I currently do not have any photos of myself contained at where I am. But I will try my best to describe my features. The last time I had myself measured was at a hospital two years ago and my height recorded then was just at 5'11. I can predict, knowing you to be a doctor, that you will most likely chastise me in your next letter for not visiting the doctor recently. I find hospitals to be rather…inconvenient for me. If you recall my little brother Sasuke and remember his appearance, I feel that is an appearance for reference. But we are still different in many ways. I have long hair compared to his short style and onyx eyes. Even though I am currently under training, the last time I had been compared to my little brother with our build, Sasuke stood as the more muscular type. I do admit he was very…aware of his highschool admirers. When he was in highschool, I would constantly walk in on him doing pushups. I would rather, as you have guessed correctly, spend my time reading at the Konoha Library as well. The Victorian style room you have described is also the reason why I enjoy spending most of my days there._

_The days have gone by quicker than last year's days. I believe that it is because I am that much closer to being released from Amegakure. I hope your New Year's was spent enjoyably and that you were able to take a rest from your duties as a doctor. A new year is a fresh start with past memories to lead you on. I have also had a question that has been occupying my mind recently. Having known each other for four months already, I believe that I do not know your birthday. I find myself paying special attention to birthday's usually. I feel that it is from the younger days when Sasuke would constantly hint to me of his upcoming birthday as if afraid that I would discard this thought from my mind. I hope everything at Konoha is in suitable conditions and also wish for your wellbeing and safety. Until the next letter._

_Sincerely,_

_Itachi_

_00  
_

Oh. _Oh_. He sounded _cute._

Wait, no.

_Hot._

Sasuke minus the chickenbutt hair, minus the sausage shoulders, minus the exterior superiority complex _plus _height, class, kindness, _and_ leanness.

Oh.

It couldn't get any better.

Laughing in delight, the pink-haired nymph hid her face before the letter, kicking her legs about until her energy died down.

If Itachi's letters could make her like this, what would talking to him in person be like?

Falling back into the pillows, Sakura gazed up at the ceiling, letter in hand as she began to dream of the one man that offered her solace.

* * *

A/N: yayyyyy! thank you for reading everyone~! Hope you enjoyed it and comment on what you think! feedback is always great for me! I'll update soon and as fast as i can!

love

-chicken


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys! I know i haven't updated for a month already! I'm sorrryyy! It's been really busy and theres one more month until AP testing begins and so i just need to hang on for one more month! I actually had this chapter ready on Friday but for some reason, the site wouldn't let me update for a while, saying there was an error -_- so I hope this chapter makes up for my long update! Enjoy and comment at the end please! Your reviews and support are what keep me going so thank you to all of my fantastical readers!

* * *

**oo**

_21 Letters_

_Chapter 6_

**oo**

* * *

**oo**

**oo  
**

_2/17/11_

_Dear Itachi, _

_I hate January. Absolutely hate that month. For some reason, I always get sick that month. I am actually convinced that sickness waits to unleash its cruel intentions on me every year on that particular month. I can't be more ecstatic that January is over and that it's February! This means that it's one month closer to summer and one month closer to being able to meet you. I laughed at your last letter at the mention of Sasuke. I actually do recall him to be very…aware of the all the girls in school. He was quite the ladies man, regardless of how brooding he seemed. _

_I'm so sorry I haven't responded sooner to your letter! I, as you already know, got the flu and it was absolutely horrible. I haven't done anything the past couple of weeks because I've been in bed. I wouldn't be surprised if my electricity suddenly went out…I'm not sure if I've paid the bill yet…haha. Well, thanks to Ino, I was able to receive your letter. While I was sick, I didn't bother going down to get my mail so she took the liberty of bringing it to me instead. So, I guess it's thanks to Ino that I'm writing this letter to you. I'm not really sure when this is going to get to you though…maybe by the end of February? I won't lie to you and say I'm a patient person, cause I'm really not. Sometimes it makes me sad that we can't talk in a faster method. I always seem to get antsy whenever awaiting your letters since it takes a long time for our letters to get to each other. But I do believe that my patience has improved because of this, haha! As to your question, my birthday is March 28__th__ and I think I'll be turning 23 this year. Oh my, I feel that i'm growing too old and the years are all sneaking past me. When's your birthday also? I hope I haven't missed it!_

_So I have devised a new strategy to the letters that I will now write to you. I have decided to learn everything about you. Yes. Learn. As if you were a subject. Haha, I know. Strange. I think that I'll try this new strategy where I ask you a lot of questions in one letter. If you decide that you'd rather keep it simple, then by all means, please tell me! Haha, I feel like experimenting with something new. Hey, it might come out to be a good strategy (probably not, but I'll give it a shot haha). So my first question to you is: What is your favorite color and why? And don't say you like 'insert color name' just because you think it's nice, haha. I can't tell you how many people have given me that frustrating answer. My favorite color is light blue, like the shade of blue that you can see when the sun just about rises. I love that light and clean color. It kinda signals something new, like there's something bigger than just the day rising that's about to come. I hate whenever people assume my favorite color's pink because of my hair. It's like saying that your favorite color is black because your hair's black. So what's your favorite animal? You seem like a kitten-kind of person, but hey, I'm probably wrong. My gut has betrayed me more than just a thousand times in my life, haha. For Christmas, Naruto found a small white kitten in the snow and gave it to me as a present. I named her Mimi-chan because she made this little 'mimi' sound when I first petted her. She's about the size of a Chihuahua right now. She's very calm but not lazy and loves sitting near the window where it's warm. My favorite animal is actually a dog though. But Mimi-chan looked so adorable that I couldn't resist. Third question: What's one really memorable event that happened when you were little? Fourth question: What's your favorite food? Fifth question: Where do you like to spend your day? Sixth question: What would you describe as your perfect day? And the seventh question: What do you have a soft spot for? Take your time in answering these questions! Really. I know how tough training over there is and I don't want you to overexert any energy. You should always get as much sleep as you can! And don't stay up past midnight, you need at least six hours of sleep a day. How is training going? I hope your generals aren't being difficult or giving you guys sass. So take care of yourself and your friends. If you come back looking all skimpy and raccoon-eyed, then I'll be sure to give you some panda eyes as a welcome present upon seeing you, haha. Most likely not, but you get my point! _

_Love always, _

_Sakura _

_**oo**  
_

Chuckling at the last part of the letter, Itachi skimmed through the letter once again. It was already March 14th. The letter had been received by the unit on March 9, 2011, as it says on the stamp of the envelope but the letter had been accidentally sent to the wrong unit and took some time to return into the rightful owner's hands. Frowning, Itachi was displeased by the feeling that his letter would not arrive to Sakura before her birthday. And there was no express delivery here. No, indeed. Furrowing his eyebrows in concentration, Itachi attempted to think of ways to get his letter to her on time.

Sighing, the Uchiha clenched his hand by his side in frustration.

"Shisui." Itachi called out softly to his cousin that was currently dozing beside him. Upon receiving no response, Itachi nudged his cousin's foot.

"Nrgh…..away."

"Shisui." Itachi's voice held a hint of amused impatience.

Sighing harshly in irritation of having been disrupted out of his small slumber, Shisui cracked an eye open.

"What?"

"I believe that it is time to take another short visit to the general's welcoming office."

* * *

**oo**

**oo**

"Sak, your birthday's in five days and I still haven't decided what to get you. So why don't you make both of our lives a bit easier and just tell me what you want." Ino waved her arms around while fussing through the kitchen waddling around with that big stomach of hers.

Twirling a plastic coaster around the counter idly, Sakura stuffed her head into her hand and gloomed around on her stool.

"I want affection. I want telephone calls every day and thousands of kisses." Sakura muttered dourly, the thought causing her to mope even more. Hearing her best friend let out an exasperated sigh and groan, she looked up to see Ino pad over to the refrigerator to grab a pitcher of mango iced tea. Pouring a cup for her friend and sliding it across the counter, Sakura took it tiredly, looking down into the much too bright orange liquid.

"…Ok. Something that is _tangible _sweetie." Leaning across the countertop and patting her cheek, Ino laughed and carefully wedged herself up onto the stool across from her friend.

"I definitely appreciate the thought, but I'm fine…at least you didn't forget about my birthday." Sakura chuckled, gulping down her cold beverage quickly. Contemplating on asking Ino to add some vodka into it, Sakura decided against it and settled for staring at her friend's very pregnant form.

"Where's Shika anyways? I thought he had the day off from the office."

Oops. Shouldn't have said that.

Ino's face immediately twisted into a very unattractive frown as she growled under her breath.

"Some stupid forensic evidence came in apparently and he said he had to leave. I bet it was just an excuse to get out of buying me ice cream and asparagus…" Biting her lip to force down a smile, Sakura slowly slid out of her seat before stooping down to grab her bag from the ground.

"Hey Ino…sorry to cut this short, but I have to go actually."

Ino, who had continued to grumble, suddenly cut off as she looked up at her best friend with those baby blue doe eyes.

"W-Wha? But you just got here…and I still need to get you something…and…" Laughing as she watched her friend flap around with half a mind present, Sakura leaned down to kiss Ino's baby belly before pecking Ino's own cheek.

"Later pig…" Sakura called as she made her way out.

"…Wait, are you called me pig as in my nickname or do I really look like a pig!" Sakura just laughed as she heard the hint of panic in her friend's voice.

"Bye Ino!"

**oo**

Now finally on her own, Sakura absent mindedly found herself walking through the big park just as the big cherry blossom trees were in full bloom, casting thousands of their silk pink petals upon wanderers. This season, the blossoms seemed to be even prettier than the last as all of the trees were in mid bloom. Threading through the countless of trees, Sakura glanced upwards to find the sky but laughed when her view was obscured by the tall cherry blossom trees towering over the sky.

"Oof!" Breath knocked out of her, Sakura staggered back before feeling a hand land lightly on her waist in order to steady her.

"Oh, I'm sorry it was- "

"Sorry about-"

The two abruptly cut off at their sentence upon glancing at each other.

Sakura, finally looking up after straightening her clothes paused with her emerald eyes wide open. Tall, broad frame, pale skin…onyx eyes…streak black hair….

Short. Black hair.

"….Uchiha…Sasuke?" Sakura inquired softly.

Said-man widened his eyes a bit before letting her go just as the pink-haired medic stepped back.

"…How do you know me?" His voice was even deeper than the last time she had heard it which was…probably about 6 years ago.

"We went to the same high school." Sakura stated bluntly, hitching her bag more securely upon her shoulder.

"…Ah…Haruno Sakura…class 12-A." Sasuke, finally recognizing her (I mean, who wouldn't with her bright pink hair?) looked her over once more.

"Um…yea. So…how are you and everything…?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

_Oh Kami, this is awkward._

"Good…I work down in a lab right now actually…how 'bout you?"

"I'm…doing fine, hehe…I'm a doctor down at Konoha Hospital…" Both of them nodded a bit awkwardly, as Sakura knotted her fingers together and swayed back and forth on her feet.

"Guess all that reading in high school paid off…"

"-Hey! That's right, I'm, ah, writing to your brother in Amegakure." Now that got Sasuke's attention.

"Itachi?...I didn't know you two even knew each other."

"Well, we didn't actually. It was originally for an extra credit assignment, but then we kinda just kept writing after that."

"That's good…he needs more company than just that naïve cousin of ours…how's he doing? I don't really talk to him that much unless I have to tell him something when he calls home."

"He's good, the training's been brutal, I- how often does he call home?" Sakura tried not to let her hint of curiosity show. But Sasuke didn't seem to expect anything.

"Maybe about once every two months…I think he sneaks the calls home whenever he needs to tell us something urgent."

"Oh…" Hope immediately crushed, Sakura patted her hair, brushing a few stray petals out of her pink locks.

"Yea, I just got back from overseas, so I haven't talked to him in awhile."

"Oh really? Where'd u go?"

"I went back to New York to settle a contract with one of our dealers in the U.S. I haven't really caught up with anyone in a while. I haven't been in touch with over half of my contacts in my phone book." Chuckling softly, Sasuke ran a hand through his hair.

"Didn't you used to talk to Naruto?"

"…The dobe? Is he still here?" Sakura knew Sasuke was trying to contain his curious inquiry so Sakura just smiled.

"He's an apprentice under Jiraiya-san."

"…the weapon maker?"

"Yup, that's him. Naruto came back for Christmas but had to go back to continue his apprenticeship. A few of the old people are still in this city though. Like um…oh, Shika…Shikamaru and Ino got married and they're about to have a baby in the summer. Mm…I know Hinata and Naruto are kinda on this dating relationship …" Sakura laughed as Sasuke stared at her with a disbelieving look.

"…What is happening to the world…" she heard him mutter.

Laughing, Sakura shook her head.

"I know, right? These couples used to hate each other back in high school…well, except for Hinata and Naruto."

"…and what about you?" Sakura's breath hitched when she heard Sasuke ask in a very soft voice.

"Um…nope, I'm as single as can be…"

"…No interests?" This surprised Sakura. It seems that Sasuke has gotten much more talkative and pressing since the last time she had known him.

"Umm…I don't think so, not really."

_Liar._

"Ah…" Sasuke let out quietly.

"I actually have to go…" Sakura started out.

"Right, right." Sasuke nodded his head quickly.

"So I'll um…talk to later?"

"Yea, ah…do you wanna…you know…" Sasuke took out his phone and gestured around.

"Oh! Yea, that'd be easier…here…lemme get…" Sakura rummaged around her bag until she finally grasped her cell and the two exchanged numbers.

Returning each other's phones, Sakura played with the strap of her bag.

"Right! So…I'll talk to you soon…It's good to see you." Reaching up for a small hug, Sakura pulled back.

"Yea, you two Sakura." Sasuke murmured softly.

Waving, Sakura turned and made her way down the path as quickly as she could without seeming to eager.

Well. That was unexpected.

He certainly had changed from his cocky self back in high school. It was rather refreshing.

* * *

**oo**

**oo**

For some reason, mother nature had suddenly decided to go on a mood swing seeing as how Sakura had woken up on the Sunday morning right before her birthday to a rainy day.

But since Sakura always loved the rain, she decided to stay in and was currently making her famous chicken and dumplings for lunch. Kneading the egg flour with her cold hands, Sakura sung lightly to the radio that had been turned to the right station in the corner. Not being able to find her usual rolling pin, Sakura improvised with one of her long cylindrical flower vases, laughing as she went. Cutting her dough into small circles, Sakura paused when she heard her cell give a tiny ring.

Flailing for a second, Sakura took large hops to her bag on the counter after deciding that washing her hands would just be too much of a hassle. Gingerly flipping open her phone, Sakura leaned her body away from her device to avoid getting flour on her blouse.

"Hello?"

"…Sakura?" Nearly falling over, Sakura glanced at the caller ID.

Uchiha Sasuke.

What?

"…yup, that's my name. Hey Sasuke, what's up?" It had been four days since the last time Sakura had bumped into her old classmate in the cherry blossom park.

"Do you wanna grab some lunch or something? I just got out of the lab."

"You're at work on a Sunday?"

"It was late notice."

"Oh…well, I'm actually making lunch so why don't you just come over?" Sakura almost slapped her hand at that. Of course he wouldn't want to come, he probably thought that-

"Sure, what's your address."

Pausing for a second, Sakura quickly relapsed and gave him her address.

"..Kay, I'll be there in five."

Hanging up, Sakura sighed and staggered back to her station before slowly continuing to make her dumplings.

That was different. He was most definitely different from the time that she had last seen him when he used to be this cocky egotistical guy. Now he was more than bearable.

Sighing, Sakura wiped her forehead.

Starting when the doorbell rang, Sakura hastily grabbed a cloth to wipe her hands as she made her way towards the door and heaved it open to find Sasuke with his hands shoved in his pocket to gather whatever warmth he had.

Laughing at the sight, Sakura stepped aside to let him in and went back to the kitchen as Sasuke took his time taking off his shoes.

"Smells good, what're you making?" She heard his call from the living room.

"Chicken and dumplings."

"Never heard of that combo before." Hearing his voice come from the doorway, Sakura turned to see him shuffling in to stand over her shoulder and peek. Swatting him away, Sakura began to dump her dumplings into the boiling soup.

"I know. That's because I invented the combo." Smiling cheekily, Sakura pulled out some fruit juice before handing him a glass.

Seeing him raise an eyebrow at her choice of beverage, Sakura cocked a hip.

"Hey, don't judge! Fruit juice can be for any age." Shrugging, Sasuke downed a cup quickly.

**oo**

**oo**

The next few hours were spent as the two talked around while Sakura finished up cooking.

Ladling in some soup and chicken with dumplings into a two wide bowls, Sakura handed one to Sasuke on the couch and sat in the arm chair opposite of him.

Scooping up some of the contents, Sakura paused her spoon midway to her mouth as she observed Sasuke's reaction as he chewed his first bite.

"Soo…how is it?" Seeing Sasuke's eyes close, she couldn't really tell what he was feeling.

"My god, how much do you want for this recipe?" Sasuke finally breathed in as he hurriedly scooped up some more.

Laughing, Sakura relaxed and began to dig into her own bowl.

"Slow down there, there's plenty more in the pot." Laughing when that comment only spurred him to each faster, Sakura shook her head and sipped her soup slowly. It was then that she realized that he and she were going to be very good friends.

* * *

**oo**

**oo**

"You mean you saw Sasuke? THE Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yes, yes. Kami Ino, it's not like he's some kind of god to be worshipped over." Sakura talked over her blonde friend on the phone, waving her arms around.

"…yes, but you see sweetie, you're already MARRIED." Sakura stressed into the phone, motioning with her hands dramatically.

Sakura listened half-heartedly as she clutched the phone between her shoulder and ear as she tried to put in one of her earrings. Something about not caring she was married and about a hot piece of ass that she'd take any day…or something like that.

Sighing, Sakura kicked up a leg to put on one of her heels, hopping as she went.

"Ok, yes, yes Ino dear. I heard you…yes, loud and clear. Mm hm…ye-ack!" Sakura exclaimed as her balancing act failed as she ended up tumbling to onto the couch.

Huffing out frustratingly, Sakura cut off Ino mid-sentence.

"Ino, I'd love to chat with you, but if you haven't noticed, we're supposed to leave in five minutes….yes Ino, it's already seven…mm-hm. Ok, bye." Hanging up, Sakura groaned out as she straightened out the curls of her hair. Tonight was her birthday. Woop-dee-doo.

And she had been forced to go to a bar with her friends for the night. Not really in the mood for going, she compromised with just a nice dinner.

**oo**

"Ok, Sak. Make a wish!" Her closest friends, TenTen, Hinata, Ino, and Temari had all surprised her at the end of the dinner by asking the chef to bring out a birthday cake to which the entire restaurant had sung happy birthday to her, most of the people knowing her as Doctor Haruno. Laughing all the way, Sakura thanked everyone before returning her attention to the cake glowing with candles in front of her.

"Make a wish honey." Ino patted her shoulder.

Staring into the bright light of the candles, Sakura heaved in a breath.

_I wish to meet my soulmate soon_

Blowing out the candles, the crowd cheered as Sakura vaguely even heard them, smiling dazedly as her thoughts continued elsewhere.

* * *

**oo**

**oo**

Finally returning back to her apartment and closing the door behind her, Sakura sighed and dumped her coat and purse on the couch before walked towards her room, taking out her earrings as she went.

But when the ring of the phone got her attention, Sakura almost groaned as she contemplated for a second whether or not to answer the call.

Grumpily making her way back out to the counter of her kitchen, Sakura held her earrings in one hand as she picked up the phone.

It was probably just Ino wanting to get some quiet time to talk to her after all the chaos during dinner.

"Hello?" Sakura spoke tiredly.

"….Sakura?" That deep voice, oh, of course.

"Hey Sasuke." Sakura laughed out.

Hearing a little chuckle on the other end, Sakura made her way over to the couch.

"I never thought of my voice being similar to that of my _otouto's _Sakura."

Oh my kami.

Legs giving out, Sakura froze on the couch.

Could it be? That voice…so smooth and quiet…it had to be….

But…

"…Itachi?..."

"Happy Birthday Sakura." Itachi murmured gently.

Letting out a shaky laugh, Sakura realized that her eyes had become blurry as hot tears began to roll down her cheek.

Sniffling, Sakura laughed again.

"Thank you, Itachi…oh wow…I know that we've been writing for almost a year already, but I feel like this is the first time I'm actually meeting you, you know?" Sakura let out in a rush.

"Yes, I understand." Itachi chuckled.

"I apologize that I haven't sent you a letter yet. I felt that I should wait to respond to your questions on the phone instead."

"Questions?" Sakura realized she was trembling in excitement.

"My favorite color is green. The shade of green that you see when the summer light hits the trees and casts a translucent glow to the leaves. It reminds me of summer days spent cloud gazing. My favorite animal is a cat. When Sasuke and I were smaller, we found a kitten that was in a very weak condition from the winter and saved it. Sasuke called it Toro-chan, but I always felt that it looked like a Kuro, so I secretly called it that…"

And that was when Sakura realized that he was reading his letter to her over the phone. It wasn't even the responses that were most memorable, but his _voice._ The soft, gentle lilt in his voice that instantly calmed you down and sent shivers down your spine during all the right times. It was the voice of pure _heaven._

It was already eleven at night, but that didn't matter at all. So that was how Sakura spent the rest of her birthday, curled up on the couch in her uncomfortable dress and heels, talking and laughing with Uchiha Itachi.

_I wish to meet my soulmate soon._

No expectations. But who knows? Her wish very might as well have just come true.

In the next three hours of talking on the phone, Sakura learned a lot about Itachi. It was the inflections in his voice that really made her understand his personality.

He was quiet and soft whenever it came to his loved ones. But there held a hint of stableness and authority in his voice that could command a room of hundreds. He was a man that knew what he wanted from life but also knew how to be understanding.

He was perfect.

His favorite food was dango, surprisingly. Sakura had always thought that he would like something more like tongatsu or maybe a type of clear broth. But Itachi had explained that it was because his dad always raised him and his brother strictly and that dango had become a sort of indulgence for him. It made Sakura feel guilty that she has the privilege to just walk down to a dango stand whenever she wanted.

His perfect day would consist of a softly rainy day outside on the porch by his garden in a warm blanket with a book of poems by Shakespeare and a mug of hot blueberry tea.

When asking for his one soft spot, Sakura could almost hear the sound of hesitation when Itachi had paused before he said a word so softly that Sakura had to strain his ear to hear.

"Sasuke."

Smiling gently, Sakura had gone on to talk about her one soft spot for Naruto even though he was as loud as can be.

He was immediately very understanding. Sakura realized that she didn't have to explain any further for him to be able to relate to her and finish off her thoughts. He was a man with a strong-will who could hold up his world but also knew that he owed a lot to his mother for her care.

Just as the time passed over two in the morning, Sakura stifled a yawn as quietly as she could. But with Itachi being Itachi, he had heard of course.

"You should rest Sakura." His gentle voice was very lulling.

"…But I wanna keep talking to you…" Sakura mumbled as she curled under her bed. In the process of talking with Itachi, she had quickly changed into her nightshirt and crawled under the warm covers of her bed.

"We will talk again soon." He laughed quietly.

"…Promise?" Sakura could already feel herself fading away.

"I promise Sakura." Smiling at his murmuring voice, Sakura yawned again.

"Okay then…call back really really soon…as soon as you can…" Sakura said desperately, clutching the phone tighter.

"I will call back as soon as I can…goodnight Sakura."

"..Goodnight Itachi…" Drifting off into sleep, Sakura smiled as she dazed off but not before hearing a soft murmur of his voice.

"sweet dreams Sakura."

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm not sure how the responses will be to this one though haha! But comment on what you thought of this little meeting of theirs...haha, thanks again everyone! Till next time! 3

-chicken


	7. Chapter 7

**Recap**

* * *

_**oo**  
_

_Oh my kami. _

_Legs giving out, Sakura froze on the couch._

_Could it be? That voice…so smooth and quiet…it had to be…._

_But…_

"…_Itachi?..." _

"_Happy Birthday Sakura." Itachi murmured gently._

_Letting out a shaky laugh, Sakura realized that her eyes had become blurry as hot tears began to roll down her cheek._

_Sniffling, Sakura laughed again._

"_Thank you, Itachi…oh wow…I know that we've been writing for almost a year already, but I feel like this is the first time I'm actually meeting you, you know?" Sakura let out in a rush._

"_Yes, I understand." Itachi chuckled. _

"_I apologize that I haven't sent you a letter yet. I felt that I should wait to respond to your questions on the phone instead." _

"_Questions?" Sakura realized she was trembling in excitement._

"_My favorite color is green. The shade of green that you see when the summer light hits the trees and casts a translucent glow to the leaves. It reminds me of summer days spent cloud gazing. My favorite animal is a cat. When Sasuke and I were smaller, we found a kitten that was in a very weak condition from the winter and saved it. Sasuke called it Toro-chan, but I always felt that it looked like a Kuro, so I secretly called it that…" _

_And that was when Sakura realized that he was reading his letter to her over the phone. It wasn't even the responses that were most memorable, but his voice. The soft, gentle lilt in his voice that instantly calmed you down and sent shivers down your spine during all the right times. It was the voice of pure heaven._

_It was already eleven at night, but that didn't matter at all. So that was how Sakura spent the rest of her birthday, curled up on the couch in her uncomfortable dress and heels, talking and laughing with Uchiha Itachi. _

_I wish to meet my soulmate soon. _

_No expectations. But who knows? Her wish very might as well have just come true. _

_In the next three hours of talking on the phone, Sakura learned a lot about Itachi. It was the inflections in his voice that really made her understand his personality. _

_He was quiet and soft whenever it came to his loved ones. But there held a hint of stableness and authority in his voice that could command a room of hundreds. He was a man that knew what he wanted from life but also knew how to be understanding. _

_He was perfect. _

_His favorite food was dango, surprisingly. Sakura had always thought that he would like something more like tongatsu or maybe a type of clear broth. But Itachi had explained that it was because his dad always raised him and his brother strictly and that dango had become a sort of indulgence for him. It made Sakura feel guilty that she has the privilege to just walk down to a dango stand whenever she wanted._

_His perfect day would consist of a softly rainy day outside on the porch by his garden in a warm blanket with a book of poems by Shakespeare and a mug of hot blueberry tea. _

_When asking for his one soft spot, Sakura could almost hear the sound of hesitation when Itachi had paused before he said a word so softly that Sakura had to strain his ear to hear._

"_Sasuke." _

_Smiling gently, Sakura had gone on to talk about her one soft spot for Naruto even though he was as loud as can be. _

_He was immediately very understanding. Sakura realized that she didn't have to explain any further for him to be able to relate to her and finish off her thoughts. He was a man with a strong-will who could hold up his world but also knew that he owed a lot to his mother for her care. _

_Just as the time passed over two in the morning, Sakura stifled a yawn as quietly as she could. But with Itachi being Itachi, he had heard of course._

"_You should rest Sakura." His gentle voice was very lulling._

"…_But I wanna keep talking to you…" Sakura mumbled as she curled under her bed. In the process of talking with Itachi, she had quickly changed into her nightshirt and crawled under the warm covers of her bed._

"_We will talk again soon." He laughed quietly._

"…_Promise?" Sakura could already feel herself fading away._

"_I promise Sakura." Smiling at his murmuring voice, Sakura yawned again._

"_Okay then…call back really really soon…as soon as you can…" Sakura said desperately, clutching the phone tighter._

"_I will call back as soon as I can…goodnight Sakura."_

"_..Goodnight Itachi…" Drifting off into sleep, Sakura smiled as she dazed off but not before hearing a soft murmur of his voice._

"_sweet dreams Sakura." _

* * *

A/N: Why hello there! Long time no see!...Really, haha. I'm so so so so sooooo sorry for not updating in the longest of times! I promised the first week of June but it's...the first week of July instead...hehe...ahhh, i'm sorry! I wanna say i've been busy, but I've kinda just been lazy with a bit of writer's block. But i really hope that this chapter will make up for my big delay! I have decided this summer to try updating my various accounts, so also check out my deviant account! My account there is kinda a flop...hahaa. Anyways, i'll try to update much faster now since it's summer! Thank you to everyone who keeps up with my stories and supports me! You guys are the driving force behind my writing! I love you guys!

* * *

**oo**_  
_

_21 Letters  
_

_Chapter 7_

**oo**_  
_

* * *

**oo**

**oo**

The light May breeze fluttered around Sakura's skirt as the soft wind caused wisps of her hair to gently slap against her cold cheeks. Turning a corner into her street, the tired doctor quietly let out a sigh of relief as the busy buzzing of market chatter faded away.

Lugging her bags of groceries up the two flights of stairs to her apartment, Sakura quickly shut the door behind her before putting away the groceries and changing into more comfortable clothes. It had been one busy month since Itachi had called her but she had sadly admitted to herself that she hadn't realized. The hospital was currently undergoing its annual updates so that meant that all doctors were required to be on shift, if not staying even later than usual. But today was Sunday, her one day of complete freedom to do whatever she pleased.

Slightly slowing her current action of grabbing a carton of ice cream from the freezer, Sakura paused to think of her last letter sent to Itachi.

…_Maybe April 1__st__?...no…it was somewhere around mid April._

And now it was already closing in on the second week of May. It seems about accurate that Itachi should be receiving her letter soon. But with all the constant hustle around the hospital, Sakura hadn't gotten a chance to agonize over Itachi's response.

Shaking away the thoughts, Sakura grabbed the tv remote and settled down to enjoy her ice cream. She would've been sharing this double fudge caramel moose tracks ice cream with Ino if only she weren't pregnant. For the past eight months, Sakura has constantly had to deal with Ino's incessant whines of her gaining weight and wanting "this little monster" out of her. Chuckling at the thought, Sakura shrugged, cheered her spoonful of ice cream to the air, and began to settle in.

**oo**

About halfway through devouring her cold treat, the doorbell let out a soft ring. Pausing in mid-snort at her comedy show, Sakura cleared her throat in a surprised manner before grudgingly getting up.

"I swear it that's you Sasuke, interrupting my show for the fifth time!- then so help me Kami, I will cut off your- "

"I swear, you ladies get spoiled by your family." The General grudgingly tossed envelopes bunched together onto various beds.

* * *

**oo**

Looking up from his book, Itachi caught the packet of letters swiftly before nodding a small thanks to the deliverer. Immediately sitting up straighter, Itachi deftly undid the knot in the string before shifting through his letters quickly. Eyes lighting up on the familiar flower stamp in the upper left hand corner, the Uchiha let a small smile adorn his lips before quickly opening the small envelope.

**oo**

_4/21/11_

_Dear Itachi, _

_Excuse my lack of a greeting in this letter for I have to first say how amazingly happy I am that you called me. I'm not really even sure how you got my phone number, but I am just so glad that you called! And on my birthday too! Thank you so much for that, it was the best birthday present I have ever received. I loved hearing your voice after such a long night. Ino had dragged me out to dinner and then later to drinks. But your call was my savior of a rather bland night. Thank you for staying on the phone with me for so long until I fell asleep. Let's just say that I had wonderful dreams that night, haha. I'm so grateful of your call that I'm not going to even ask as to how you got hold of a phone over there! _

_So it's been a while since we've written to each other because your letter was in the form of a glorious phone call. Everything in Konoha is currently good and wonderful right now. The weather is going on a few mood swings at the moment so I can't exactly predict the weather. I had dinner with Sasuke a few nights ago and once again he requested that I make chicken and dumplings. I swear that is the only dish we ever eat whenever we do get a chance to have a meal together. He's definitely changed, but I guess time changes everything, neh? I can't wait until you can come back to Konoha. I want to spend hours in the library with you, or in the coffee shop, or even just under the cherry blossom trees. And make dinner for you (even chicken and dumplings if you so request me to) and talk for hours with you. I would count down the days until you come home, but I'm not sure exactly what day you get released so for now, all I can do is count the months. _

_So Ino is in her sixth month of her pregnancy and it's really exciting because I know it's going to be a boy. But Ino told me not to tell her what gender her baby was so that it could be a surprise. She wants to be totally unprepared so that she won't have any expectations or wonderings of how her baby is going to turn out. I think she secretly wants a boy but Shika has already made it perfectly clear that he hopes for a girl. I personally believe that girl's are harder to handle when they grow up, but hey, can't change anything about that right? The hospital is busy as usual, but not as busy as the previous months. There have been many officers sent out recently so we don't have such a heavy load of the injured. Everything here is fine and usual! I hope that your training is going well and that you are taking care of your health and eating all the nourishment that you need! Only a few more months until you can come home! Make sure everyone there is doing okay for me and that you all get enough rest! Many hugs and kisses._

_Love always, _

_Sakura_

_**oo**  
_

Oh yes. Itachi didn't think Sakura realized how much he wanted to return home too.

September 5th.

Rubbing his eyes warily, Itachi uncapped his black pen before reaching over to the wall beside him that contained a small pin up calendar. Marking a small 'X' on May 10th, Itachi sighed before recapping his pen. Sliding below his covers, he tucked his arms behind his head and stared up at the bottom of the bunk bed he shared with one of his inmates. There, taped carefully, was the small picture of Sakura in her sundress smiling up at him brightly. It was the first thing he saw in the morning and the last thing he saw at night.

* * *

**oo**

"Neji." Sakura's surprised mouth called out as she swung open the heavy door.

There in front of her stood her ex from three years ago looking the same as always. The tall stature, pale lavender eyes and long brown hair haven't changed at all. Memories of their four years together suddenly came flashing through Sakura's mind as she quickly shook her head to clear it, including the memory of her packing her bags and leaving before he came back from work.

Sakura never would've guessed that this man would be at the door.

"Sakura." The familiar low lilt of his voice came flooding back into her senses as Sakura stood there gaping up at him.

"….Ah…I….Hi." Sakura finally let out breathlessly. Neji merely inclined his head slightly before looking past her shoulder and into her apartment.

"You..ah…come in." The doctor finished off lamely before stepping aside awkwardly and walking back into the comforts of her living room.

"I'll make some tea for you. Would you like red?...green?..."

"Do you still have chamomile?"

The question made Sakura suddenly stop in her tracks as she turned around carefully only to face Neji's poker face as he quietly stepped in after having removed his shoes.

Silently nodding, Sakura confusedly drifted into the kitchen to place a kettle of water onto the stove. Trying to go as slowly as possible as she set up the cups with the tea bags inside, Sakura only felt more troubled.

Why was he finally coming to her after three years? There was really nothing left to say to each other...

She had left him so quickly that it should have been apparent enough that she did not wish to be together any longer.

"Thinking about this by yourself will only make you overthink things Sakura."

Whirling around, Sakura covered up her surprise by clearing her throat softly.

"…I'm not really sure what you mean by that."

Neji stared at her from the kitchen door as he leaned against it silently before nodding towards her hands.

"You always dwindle your fingers whenever you're thinking too much."

See?

Why'd he keep saying those types of things? Those statements that made her realize even more how much he still knew her. It bothered her. It frightened her. And she wanted it to stop.

Finally letting out a frustrating sigh, Sakura finally dropped the formality as she rubbed her temples.

"Neji…I don't think you should be-"

"I want to know why you left." Interrupting her sentence, he stepped into the kitchen while looking at her intensely.

Crossing her arms securely around her ribs, Sakura looked to the side, thinking out her answer carefully.

**oo**

**oo**

Sakura had met Neji soon after her father had died. Their fathers had been good family friends and upon attending her father's funeral, she had bumped into Neji. The thing that made him stand out was how he treated her. No pity or stares. He met her with understanding and quiet companionship. He understood her in a way that even Ino didn't. At first it had scared her that a man she had known for so little time had figured her out in such a short length of time. And then she had slowly fallen for him as he did for her.

Sakura couldn't deny that those years with him were the happiest of her life. She had even thought of marrying him soon after they had gotten together. But then one argument shifted everything. Sure they had fought many times before over stupid things, but this argument was big.

….And now looking back on it, Sakura couldn't even remember what the argument was about. She really didn't.

All she could remember was the feeling she felt after he had slammed the door shut behind him in the morning as he left for work. She could remember feeling angry and hurt. And that she never wanted to feel like this again. She could remember pulling out her suitcase. She could remember throwing random clothing into her bag. She could remember throwing open the door. She could remember throwing away all the memories of them together. And she could remember walking away from them so clearly.

**oo**

Snapping back to the man currently standing in front of her, Sakura stood with her mouth opening and closing several times.

"…I…stopped loving you."

Liar.

She could hear her inner self pushing and prodding her brain painfully.

She was such a liar.

She had loved him for than life itself when she had walked out.

"…You know…" Neji spoke softly as he stepped closer to the pink-haired doctor, "…you were never a good liar Sakura…especially to me."

Sakura couldn't even remember how, but when she turned her head back up to look at him, she came inches away from his face as she stared up into the opal eyes that she had looked into so many times.

"I want to know why you left me." Neji whispered as his hands slowly came up to cup her face in his large hands.

Unconsciously lifting her face up towards his, Sakura knew she wasn't supposed to do this. It would just create complications, and she didn't want that. And yet their faces were inching closer together as the seconds ticked by and Sakura could feel the soft caress of Neji's breath fan lightly on her cheek.

"…Neji…" Sakura whispered.

Just as she felt the tip of his lip graze hers lightly, a small muffled ring came into her mind.

And as it got louder, Sakura blinked her eyes open when realizing that it was the kettle. Just as the kettle was like an alarm clock, Sakura was suddenly snapped back to her current condition. Jumping slightly at her proximity to him, Sakura turned her face to the side quickly before ducking out of his grasp and quickly turning off the stove.

Turning around towards the counter to pour the hot water into the cups, Sakura let out a startled jump as she felt a warm hand cover hers and gently pry the kettle from her tight grip.

"Forget about the tea Sakura, I want an answer." Neji spoke into her ear quietly.

Sighing, Sakura walked back into the living before taking a seat on her couch, ice cream forgotten on the glass table. With Neji having taken a seat across from her, Sakura drew her knees to her chest as she rested her head on her knees gingerly.

After minutes of silence and of Sakura contemplating her response, the medic finally opened her mouth to reply.

"…I don't know…"

Neji just looked at her evenly.

"Do you remember why we were arguing?"

Shaking her head slowly, Sakura bit her lip as she prepared herself for his answer. Somewhere deep inside her mind, even though she didn't want to admit it, she had a hunch that it was over something pointless.

"…We were arguing…", Neji slowly pulled out an object from inside his jeans, "over an engagement ring." Finishing off his sentence softly, Neji opened his palm to reveal a small glittering round object.

Breath hitching, Sakura stared at the tiny ring before slowly burying her head into her knees, shaking her head.

She didn't want this.

"…Neji…I just…"

"I came here to ask you to give us another shot."

Head snapping up to look at Neji, Sakura stared wordlessly at her ex, not stopping him as he came to rest upon the table in front of her.

"Sakura" Neji coaxed her head up before bringing their faces closer inch by inch.

_Itachi._

Sakura didn't know where that thought came from, but like a clear voice, his name spoke out in her mind and just like that, the pink-haired doctor was broken out of her trance.

Shaking her head slightly in Neji's hands, Sakura pulled back.

"I don't think we should- "

Suddenly the doorbell rang and broke off Sakura's next sentence, although it was very clear to both of them what Sakura was about to say.

Getting up abruptly, Sakura let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding before quickly distancing herself from Neji.

With Neji following her wordlessly down the hall and to the door, Sakura turned to look at him.

"…I'm sorry Neji…but I think I've already fallen for someone else."

With that, Sakura didn't think she wanted a response and opened the door.

* * *

**oo**

**oo**

"Hey there baby cousinnnn" Shisui cooed at his cousin, despite the grudging look he received from the younger Uchiha.

"Your level of maturity never ceases to amaze me Shisui." Itachi's quiet voice rang out as the composed Uchiha returned to his book.

Ignoring the shaking of the bed as Shisui unceremoniously dumped himself beside him, Itachi sighed, pretending not to notice the obnoxious staring his cousin was currently giving him.

"A picture would last much longer if you so wish for one Shisui." Itachi murmured as he flipped the page.

"Oh Itachi, don't be such a prick!" Throwing a heavy arm around Itachi's neck, Shisui pulled their faces as close as possible, laughing at Itachi's discomforted look.

"I just wanna know a little about this girl you're always writing to. She must be one special girl."

"…That is possible."

"Oh come on!" Shisui burst out, "You made us sneak into the General's office…_the General's _office in order to get a phone call to her! You've never broken the rules…EVER!" Shisui looked up.

"Oh. Ohhhhhh. Hey hey, Itachi-chan, is this the cutie?" Shisui poked at the picture of Sakura that was taped to the bottom of the bunk above Itachi's bed.

"Hey, she's pretty cute…you know…if things don't work out between you guys, I'd be happy to take-"

"You will do no such thing." Itachi finally relented as he spoke firmly, rolling his eyes when Shisui let out a cackle of a laugh.

"Oh Itachi, getting possessive already?" Snickering at his younger cousin, Shisui reached over and ruffled Itachi's long tresses before hopping off the bed, murmuring something about wanting food.

Not wanting to admit, Itachi knew there was a certain possessive nature that he was beginning to assume of Sakura. It was a strange type of feeling that he has never experienced before that made him think to himself of what his relationship with Sakura was. Were they together? Or were they at the point where they were more than friends? They were certainly good friends now having known each other for over half a year…

But what were they really?

Deep down, though, Itachi knew that there was a part of his mind that was telling him that he might really love this girl.

* * *

**oo**

"Sasuke." Sakura, for the second time in the day, let out surprisingly.

Upon letting Neji out of her apartment, she came face to face with Sasuke. And now there he stood, one hand in his pocket while the other hand carried a takeout bag.

"Hey Sak, it's Sunday."

Pausing for a second, Sakura let out an epiphany sigh when she realized the meaning of his statement.

It was Sunday.

Every Sunday had somehow become an unspoken agreement of lunch together, either outside or at one of their houses. And today it was Sasuke's turn to treat her.

"Oh right, Sasuke. Sorry, it just kinda slipped my mind."

Chuckling, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Wow there Sak, didn't know I meant _that_ much to-" Seeing his eyes rest behind her, Sakura coughed upon remembering that Neji was still behind her.

Disregarding the man that was walking out of the door, Sakura quickly pulled Sasuke into her apartment while quickly shutting the door without so much as a glance at Neji.

"Uh…way to introduce us there Sakura." Sasuke let out a bit confusedly.

"Yea…sorry. Is this Chinese? My favorite." Sakura said breathlessly as she made for a grab at the bag, letting out a distressed sound when Sasuke held the bag out of her reach.

"Nuh-uh. Not until I get some answers from you Miss Doctor." Sasuke poked her nose before brushing past her into the living room, raising an eyebrow at the half empty carton of ice cream.

"Thanks for sharing the dessert with me too."

"Oh god Sasuke, stop being so dramatic, there's another carton in the freezer you baby." Sakura gave a small whack to the back of his head before settling down on the couch with Sasuke on the other end beside her.

Taking out a carton of food and snapping her chopsticks, Sakura was just about to take a plunge into the box of food until another pair of chopsticks blocked her predatory descent.

"Ugh! You know better than to get between me and my food Sasuke!" Sakura burst out frustratingly.

"Answers Sak. I want to know who that guy was. And why you didn't even say 'bi' to him. And why you looked like you had just eaten Lee's Thousand Death Curry."

"Fine! Fine!" Swatting away Sasuke's annoying chopsticks from her food, Sakura sighed.

"That was Neji. My ex."

A low whistle from Sasuke.

A smack on the arm from Sakura.

"I left him three years ago."

"What's the big deal with that? You guys broke up."

"No…I like…ran away. I _left._ Meaning packed up bags, and just walked out while he was away at work."

"…_oh."_

"Yea. '_OH'"_ Sakura repeated sarcastically. Taking a pause to shove food down her throat, Sakura swallowed painfully.

"And he just came here without telling me demanding an answer as to why I left him and then he reminded me of what our argument was even really about in the first place." Looking down at her kung pao chicken, the pink-haired doctor nudged at her food.

"Well?"

"…Well what?" Sakura mumbled.

"What was it about?"

When Sakura paused to long in replying, a nudge from Sasuke's foot made her budge.

"My engagement ring."

Looking up at the blinking Sasuke, she waited expectantly for a reply.

"…Wow. That's…kinda messed up."

Grumbling slightly after Sakura had given him a punch, he began to eat.

"Well it is!...So…what now?"

"I don't know…I'm not going back to him though."

"Why not? You guys were fighting over something trivial. Something about love."

"Aren't you supposed to be fighting on my side? What happens if I run back to Neji and Itachi finds out that you encouraged me?" Sakura scolded.

Laughing a bit, Sasuke swallowed.

"It'll be my revenge for giving me so many years of pain." Laughing together, Sakura finally shook her head.

"…No…I won't go back to him…besides everything else…I mean, I know we used to always have arguments…not big ones, but those small ones that kind of just end up building up." Nodding silently, the two ate silently as the tv droned on in the background.

"So you love my brother?"

Choking on the chewed food that was attempting to make its way down her throat, Sakura coughed violently, vaguely regarding the thumping of Sasuke's hand on her back in aid.

"..fine…I'm..fine!" Sakura finally coughed out, glaring as Sasuke snorted.

"Guess that answers my question."

"Oh shut up."

"You know..." Sasuke finally spoke after a while of the two staring at the tv, "if Itachi didn't already have dibs on you, I probably would've fallen for you." Sasuke said casually.

Pausing in her eating, Sakura looked up, staring at his eating face before casually propping her feet up onto Sasuke.

"You know…", Sakura began, "if you weren't Itachi's _otouto_…you'd probably be a dead pulp by now." Sakura merely finished off her carton of food before snatching Sasuke's half-eaten carton from his hands.

But before Sasuke could respond, a loud beep came from under Sakura.

"…Your butt's beeping Sak." Sasuke said bluntly as he stared at her ass.

Making a tsking noise, Sakura shoved her foot in his face.

"Look there again and you'll be fried ass."

Reaching under her, Sakura checked at her pager.

"What the hell? Who pages me for a pregnancy!" Sakura let out a frustrated yell before stomping into her room to throw on her coat.

"I'll be back when I get back. Lock up before you leave." Sakura said hurriedly before tossing the keys to him and grabbing her things before heading out.

* * *

**oo**

**oo**

"It's time to push god damn it!"

"NO! I'm not going to until Sakura gets here!"

"You'll kill yourself woman!"

"OHHHH! Then won't you be one happy man!"

"Just push you stubborn woman!"

"My god, what the hell is going on in- OH MY KAMI!" Sakura yelled out panic-stricken when she rushed into the room only to find a very sweaty and pregnant best friend and her antsy husband.

"Ino! But you're not due for another month! Are you sure the baby's here? It's not just a stomach ache!" Sakura rushed around to peek.

"HOLY SHIT SAK, I KNOW WHEN I'M HAVING A GOD DAMN BABY FOR KAMI'S SAKE!" Ino screamed out as another contraction hit her.

"Ok!Ok! On my mark Ino, you're going to push and hold until I count to ten, got it?" Seeing Ino nod her head in pain and grasp Shika's hand tighter, Sakura quickly pulled on her gloves before preparing for the baby.

"Ok, on the count on three Ino."

"one"

"two"

"three!"

"She's so…tiny…"

One hour later and everything was finally settling down. Night had already approached as Sakura was finally packing away all of the instruments in the room as Ino cooed at the baby. It was a gorgeous baby, Sakura had to say.

Chestnut brown hair like Shika's with the bluest eyes, just like Ino's. Ino had told her that they would have gotten to the hospital sooner if Shika hadn't driven so slowly. Once the baby had been cleaned and bundled up, Sakura had realized the amazing miracle of a birth. Sure she had delivered countless of babies, but none of them had been her friends.

Staring down at the little ball of wonder, Sakura leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"So", Sakura collapsed on to the chair beside the bed, propping her feet up onto the bed, "have you decided on a name for the little guy?"

Ino smiled and glanced over at her husband's sleeping form.

"…I think Asuma would be nice." Sakura's eyes softened at that.

Asuma had been Shikamaru's grandfather who had died while in war. He was the closest person the Shikamaru.

"I think so too." Sakura smiled encouragingly at Ino.

"Ok then", Sakura sighed as she got up slowly while stretching out her stiff limbs, "I'm gonna head off so we can both get some rest…always giving me trouble pig." The two of them laughing quietly.

Leaning down to place a kiss to her best friend's forehead, Sakura caressed Asuma's soft cheek before hitching her bag higher onto her shoulder.

"I'll come visit tomorrow for lunch, so don't eat! Love you" Whispering, Sakura waved before quietly slipping out the door.

Oh how amazing birth was. It was the start of a new life. An innocent creature that is born into the world. Sakura knew that the baby was in very good hands. Even though those two will have their small arguments, they'll always manage to work things out.

**oo**

**oo**

Arriving at home, Sakura called out to see if Sasuke had stayed. But upon receiving no answer, Sakura shrugged and padded into the living room, silently thanking Sasuke for having cleaned up her table of unwanted trash. But having a small epiphany, Sakura skidded into the kitchen and opened the freezer only to discover it empty with a post it reading ':P'. Laughing, Sakura rolled her eyes before spotting a stack of mail on her counter with a small note from Sasuke.

Sifting through the large stack, Sakura's eyes caught upon the cream colored envelope before tearing it open none-too-delicately.

* * *

_5/12/11_

_Dear Sakura,_

_Thank you for your letter. It should be I who does the thanking. If not for your voice and quiet conversation, I am confident that I would have slowly become insanely frustrated in this training facility. I'm glad to have gotten to wish you a happy birthday in time. As for my method of obtaining a phone call shall be kept a secret until we meet. I can also already imagine us in the library or out in the open for a meal together. My release date is September 5__th__ as I have also been counting down the days until my training is finally completed. I believe that I have fifty five more days until I will be allowed to return home. I have recently been thinking of my future as we had discussed in previous letters. I am still uncertain as to what the future holds for me, but as you already know, I hope that I will not have to pursue a career in war. It has never suited me and I do not suit it. I have been thinking of my options and believe that I will discuss this with my parents as to my true wishes for a career. I know that my mother will always supportive of my decisions. It is my father that I have to present the issue to. _

_As for your comment on Sasuke, I do believe that he has grown considerably. I began to take notice of his behavior once he graduated from college and returned home. It seems that his experience there had changed his perspective for the better. I am glad that he is there to provide you with conversations and friendship. Please tell him that I leave my care for you in his arms. I think he has already been doing an exceptional job since you are still alive. And as for Ino's pregnancy, I hope that the delivery of her baby boy will be swift and without complications. Something about the birth of a new life into the world still never seizes to amaze me. How something so small can develop into a full human being with emotions is a wonder that kami has given us. That is why I am against war so strongly. We are given a chance at life to experience wonders to its fullest and I do not believe that our years should be spent in war and fighting. It is a waste of a great opportunity and I do not want to play with the love that I was born out from._

_I hope you are also doing well in Konoha. I long for the breezy afternoons and the sun. It is currently very rainy here in our training camp. I believe that Suna has many summer rains. I enjoy the rain, but only when the season is fit for it. I hope that I will be able to spend many warm afternoons outside with you. Your letters are what help me survive in this camp. I have been doing well and although the training here is very harsh and the Generals are strict, I believe that in all due time, things will start looking up. Make sure you stay safe and always lock your doors when going out or staying in. Until your next letter._

_Love, _

_Itachi_

* * *

_**oo**  
_

The ring of the telephone broke Sakura out of her thumping trance as she beamed down at the letter while placing a hand over her racing heart.

Looking towards the telephone, a small bubble of hope rose in her chest.

'…_Could it be?...'_

Walking over to the phone, Sakura counted to three before picking up hurriedly.

"Hello?"

A low deep voice responded.

"Hey Sak."

Splat. That was her hope being dropped from a ten story building.

Sighing, Sakura fell back onto the couch.

"Hey Sasuke." Sakura responded lamely.

"Hey, I think I left my jacket over at your place, I'll be over tomorrow to get it, kay?"

"Yea yea, sure"

Hanging up after saying 'bi', Sakura groaned out before reaching her room and flopping down onto the bed, staring up at her ceiling of glow-in-the-dark stars.

Smiling, Sakura giggled softly before burying her face into the pillow beside her.

'_He signed it 'Love"'_

_**oo**_

* * *

_**oo**_

A/N: Hey there! I hope you guys liked this chapter...it was kind of a spontaneous thing with Neji...so haha, comment on what you thought of it! I'll be updating soon! Thank you guys again for all of the reviews and the support! Until next time!

_-chicken_


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone! So first off i definitely have to apologize to all of my readers. I haven't updated in the longest of times. In the beginning ,I was jut having writer's blocks, not sure of how to lead my characters through the next chapters. But then towards the new year, when i had finally found some inspiration, things at school starting becoming more hectic. I definitely wanted to just bust out this chapter before my finals, but knew that probably wouldn't be good to do ._. So now my finals are over and i am now officially a second semester senior! I'm so excited to finally be able to concentrate on my story. So to all of my wonderful viewers, thank you for sticking through with my story until the end! (During my hiatus, i have been rereading stories from my favorite fanfic authors and had realized the amount of depth and thought they put into each chapter. So i've been trying to improve on my chapters, making them more detailed and sensroy-happy :D Tell me what you guys think with comments and of course, enjoy!)

* * *

_21 Letters_

.

.

_Chapter 8_

* * *

Red felt tip pen squeaking slightly on the open calendar, a large letter "X" was drawn from corner to corner in the box of the day that had already passed.

Smiling to herself softly, the pink haired doctor recapped the thin pen with a soft 'click' before heading into the bathroom to start the day.

'Just a few more months' Sakura thought subconsciously as she prepared the water for her shower.

The season was just on the edge of summer as the day grew longer and hotter, with nights cool and calm. Today though, had an ongoing light breeze throughout Konoha that made sit-in restaurants curtains flutter and girls' hairs dance.

Which was why Sakura decided, that maybe her choice of wearing her floral light pink skirt was probably not the best option-seeing as how the doctor found herself constantly tugging at the back of her skirt to make sure she didn't accidentally flash anybody. Last time she had done that, it had resulted in a very embarrassed pink haired medic and a flushed Sasuke who had mumbled something incoherently close to 'cute panties'.

With a light blush dusting her nose, Sakura ducked her head before hurrying along to find said-man. With the small wind picking up a bit, Sakura scanned the row of shops and street markets for any signs of a chicken-butt haired man wandering around somewhere, occasionally waving to village acquaintances who smiled at her. With the heat of the summer day radiating around the streets and constant breeze, the uncomfortable feeling of static began to increase-fueling the doctor's desire to quickly find her friend.

Ears perking up at the distant sounds of whistling, the innocent pink-haired girl scanned the streets until finding a small cluster of men staring at her with amused predatory smiles and wolfish grins. Mouth immediately frowning in distaste, Sakura had no time to give those boys a proper scolding before she felt a warm hand grope her in a place somewhat….inappropriate. Ready to spin around and sucker punk the pervert into next week, an arm came around her shoulders, locking her arms before calling out to her.

"Sakura"

Surprised, said-girl peered up, squinting at the glaring sun before making out the features of the man she had been trying so diligently to find. Head turning, Sasuke eyed the group of guys in a way that Sakura didn't quite catch before watching them disperse as Sasuke turned back to look at his petite friend with a growl.

"You just always have to choose the perfect day to wear the wrong things, dontcha Sak." Sasuke growled lowly.

Twisting around and spotting her friend's hand splayed prominently over her ass, she turned back with a glower.

"And may I ask as to why you are so generously offering yourself to get a painful kick in the ass in 3…2…-"

"Unless you want those guys to continue…_pursuing_you like a piece of meat, I find this the better alternative."

"Hey…that's a piece of _very lean_ meat to you mister."

Few moments passed by until realization dawned on her, along with a lovely deep red blush. Sakura was torn between feeling touched by Sasuke's protective side, hand splayed in order to prevent her skirt from flying up and irritation at having that same hand wrapped so…abundantly on her round behind.

Deciding to let it go for now, Sakura moved away quickly before smoothing out her skirt.

"Oh let's just go already" mumbling quietly, Sakura tugged her friend's hand-resisting the urge to glare.

It seemed though, that Sasuke knew her so well and vice versa. It almost worried her-the scale at which they were close.

But, well, Sakura _knew_ she loved Itachi. He helped her, comforted her when she was down, and conversed with her on the most silly of subjects. He understood how her weird mind worked. But after a few steps of ponderings, Sakura came to a thought no matter how much it frightened her and made her want to push it back down into the depths of her subconscious annoying little mind.

'_Sasuke could very well fall in love with me'_

Sakura knew perfectly well just how much Sasuke liked her. Hell, he didn't even try to hide it most of the time. At the moment, Sakura would always jokingly accept his ridiculous declarations of love for her-laughing it off. But as time continued and the months were shortening towards Itachi's release date, Sakura understood this…'thing', between them…

No, not 'thing'.

Admitting to this as a 'thing' would only imply that there was even some small little bity ounce of something between them.

And there certainly most definitely _was not_ Sakura thought bitterly.

This…type of behavior/feeling from Sasuke had to stop.

Though it sounded pretty silly, Sakura wanted to be completely and irresistibly in love and belonging to only one said Uchiha Itachi when she meets him.

-and this meant no funny business from Sasuke.

The medic wasn't too worried though. She knew she was in love with Itachi.

And was falling for him harder everyday.

* * *

With the two finally deciding on a little udon shop on the outskirts of their small town, the lovely pinkette and her boyish friend took a seat next to a large spacious wall-sized window that overlooked a row of Sakura trees where couples strolled down occasionally.

Once finding a comfortable position in the traditional bamboo chair she was seated in, Sakura crossed her legs before smoothing out the creases in her skirt and looking up at her friend who she found, disconcertingly, to be gazing intently at her features. It was one of those awkward moments where she knew he was trying to be intimidating in a sort of sexy way but didn't want him to continue so would attempt to casually brush away whatever…intentions, he was going for. So she just settled for the casual-

"What?" She asked in a practiced hesitating voice, mouth titled slightly at the corners, "is there something on my face?"

And it was also those moments where he knew she knew what he was doing and understood what she was doing in order to block his efforts.

"No, nothing at all." Sasuke murmured lowly, eyes still boring into hers. And upon seeing the hint of pink tinting the tip of her ears, he would smirk, knowing he had _some_ effect on her.

Emerald eyes narrowing at his smug look, his little friend sniffed before grumbling.

"Ok, yes oh-powerful one, you got me…now stop that." Her eyes began flitting across his form nervously, but never once landing on his deep onyx orbs. This only fueled his male ego knowing how he could make her uncomfortably nervous.

"Whatever you say…_Sa-ku-ra_" Quietly chuckling when he heard the soft gasp before flinching at the sharp kick he received under the table. Well, he should've expected it. They had already gone over how he shouldn't/couldn't/wouldn't ever say her name like that. It was how he would call the name of his, as Sakura put it, "hot luvah."

"…You know I don't like it when you do that." Sakura grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms. Having more fun with his easily-ruffled friend, Sasuke leaned forward, fingers teasingly brushing the insides of her wrist before glancing up at her from under his lashes.

"But on the contrary _Sakura_, you know how much I like it."

Snappingly pulling her wrist away from his hand and giving him a light slap on the back of his hand, Sakura glared.

"Don't pull that Edward Cullen thing on me. It's an abuse of your looks. And a wasted effort." The pinkette added the last sentence abruptly as an after-thought.

Shaking his head in amusement, Sasuke opened his mouth to say something in return until he was interrupted with the waiter approaching to take their order.

The thing with them, Sakura had realized after she had settled into bed one night, was how much of a tease everything was becoming. It was more like a game of fun now every time she ended up spending time with this troublesome guy. And after some time, Sakura had soon realized that she probably knew more about Sasuke than she did about Itachi. It was all fact-based of course such as what his favorite color was, favorite hobby...etc. But after days of wallowing in some type of mixed emotion akin to sadness, curiosity, determination, shame, and resignation, the pink-haired medic had finally decided to let the issue drop. It really wasn't her fault that she had just naturally ended up getting close to Itachi's little brother. As long as she knew that she loved Itachi and not Sasuke, that's all that she wanted. In the end, she had come to the realization that it didn't matter how many facts she knew about which brother. The mind mattered more. It was the endless conversations she could hold with Itachi, the sound of his soft lilting voice that held so much promise and security-underlying passion and care, it was the determination she could see in him, the gentlemanly aspects he carried. It was him all wrapped up into what made him Uchiha Itachi that made her heart ache for him so badly. With every confusing meeting with Sasuke, these small facts were what always calmed Sakura down-if not, make her even more excited about being able to see him soon.

* * *

After having their food ordered and brought to them, they had discussed most of the generic things such as work, the day, girl problems, boy…issues (because really, did Sasuke _ever_ have boy problems?), and other countless small issues, the two had slowly finished their soup and were currently sipping on the hot green tea that was brought to them not too long ago.

"So, Itachi's division got moved again."

Nearly choking on her tea, Sakura quickly set aside her drink, rubbing her tongue against the roof of her mouth in order to soothe the prickly sensation of her burnt tongue from the tea.

"Really? Where did he get relocated to?" Cocking an eyebrow teasingly at her, Sasuke laughed.

"Kiri."

Eyes shooting wide open, Sakura's mouth dropped.

"_What?_" She continued to remain speechless for a good full two minutes, mind processing the new information, mentally thanking Sasuke for keeping quiet at the time of her mental freaking out.

Finally after taking a long sigh, Sakura buried her forehead into her palm, rubbing soothing back and forth motions.

"But…that's all the way in the Water Country" Sakura croaked depressingly.

"Well…it wouldn't really matter where he is, would it?" Sasuke looked at her expectantly.

"It would!" Sakura let out a childish whine, kicking her feet back and forth. Upon seeing the confused expressions of the younger Uchiha, she continued.

"You know how impossibly _long_ it takes for one letter to just reach Kiri?" When Sasuke seemed to be racking his brain for an answer and finally opened his mouth, he was abruptly cut off by a well manicured hand over his mouth as the pink-haired vixen leaned in closer to his face menacingly.

"Three and a half _freakin weeks._" She hissed before deflating back down into her chair. Pressing her cheek against the cool surface of the table, the doctor depressingly stared out the window and gazed at the green leafy trees and wide mountains.

"It's like Kami just doesn't want us to be together Sasuke. I mean, he keeps getting moved around places, and each time it gets farther and farther. I mean...first Ame, then Suna, and _now_ Kiri?" Groaning, Sakura shook her head, cheek digging into the table corner.

"Sakura." Sasuke called softly. Upon hearing a small whimper of hopelessness from his friend, he sighed before scooting his chair closer to her side and gently depositing her head full of soft pink locks onto his shoulder, rubbing a warm hand over her shoulder.

"…I think…it means that you guys are meant to be together actually." As the words stumbled out of his mouth, Sasuke wondered bewilderedly why in the world he was trying to help her and Itachi get together. But in the back of his mind, he secretly knew that he would do anything to make this girl happy. Swallowing thickly, Sasuke continued.

"If...you guys were able to overcome this…obstacle of distance set between the two of you, it must mean you guys are supposed to be together. It's just a small bit of distance. And you guys will see each other really soon no matter what and can continue whatever …relationship you guys have once he is released."

The silence of his friend made him shift nervously until she decided to speak up.

"….That's…probably…the-"

"sweetest thing anyone's ever said to you?"

"the deepest thing you've ever said" The two simultaneously said before realizing what the other said and looking at each other quickly before Sakura burst out laughing, pinching Sasuke's childish frowning face.

"Oh Sasuke, you're so cute. But no, that's not the sweetest thing you've said to me."

Finally, curiosity got the better of him.

"Then what was?"

Smirking up at him coyly, Sakura shifted her head back onto his shoulder.

"I brought you take-out for lunch today."

Eyes widening in disbelief, Sasuke looked down at the pink head girl whose shoulders were shaking in barely contained laughter.

". you're so funny Sak." Sasuke mumbled, tugging her hair slightly.

* * *

Once Sakura had gotten over the small shock and final resolution, the two had fallen back into sipping their tea while enjoying their desert of assorted dango. Something that, Sasuke had mentioned, was Itachi's favorite sweet.

"So…tell me more about Itachi?" Sakura asked shyly, licking the corner of her mouth where sauce had gotten.

Sasuke just grunted.

"It's not like I know everything about him Sak"

"Oh come on, pleaseee? What about his favorite food? What about some childhood memories? Anything? Everything." Sakura finally concluded after her rare moment of begging.

And after several minutes of puppy dog eyes and holding his hand tightly, Sasuke had relented and they spent the next few hours talking about the older Uchiha heir.

And it was the best hours of her life.

His favorite food was grilled salmon and cold soba with a special dipping sauce found only at a specific vendor at the street market (which Sakura had forcefully made Sasuke give her the name of). The brothers never sat over a plate of cookies and discussed their interests or anything (the image just made Sakura snort in amusement). But Sasuke was observant. And though Itachi never said anything, Sasuke could tell what his older brother's preferences were.

He liked rainy days. _Loved _them. Something about the coldness, the miracle of the water bringing life down upon them was mind-turning. Sasuke told the story of once catching him out back in their garden, just sitting in the rain while inspecting the fat droplets of water roll off the petals of the tulips, even catching a few drops into the palm of his hand. He also had this strange habit of rolling a cup of warm tea between the palms of his hands. Sasuke had guessed it was to warm his hands. He cut fruit with a kunai-once commenting to his otouto how okaa-san's knives were never sharp enough-she never felt comfortable with having sharp objects in the house…strange considering she was a weapon's master. It must have been something that grew within her once she had children.

Whenever he was too exhausted to dry his long hair, he would tie it into a haphazard bun in order to read over scrolls. On hot summer nights, he would fall asleep with no blankets, only a small cloth lying over his eyes in order to block out the moonlight coming in from the open window. Sasuke had once asked why he didn't just close the window, but his aniki had said that he rather enjoyed the sound of the quiet chirping of the crickets-it would bring back memories of the summer nights when the siblings were younger and used to play ninja by the stream.

Itachi also had a soft spot for kittens. Lost ones usually. Sasuke had even grumbled about how Itachi had, at one point, brought back a stray kitten at least once a month, nursing it back to health before painfully giving it away to one of the other Uchiha clan children. But he had only ever kept one. A small, jet black kitten with the purest green eyes and soft demeanor. He had brought her into shelter one stormy night, blood dripping from its open wound in its side. Sasuke had said that though Itachi never wanted to admit it, but the moment the small kitten had planted herself into the crook of his neck and purred contentedly, that was the second Itachi had decided to keep her. It's name was Mei, aka Mi-chan.

He didn't like kiwis. Sasuke didn't know why, but that's just how it worked. Whenever their mother set a bowl of mixed fruit on the table, Itachi would always pick around the green fruit, instead, reaching for pieces of peaches first and when that ran out, the bananas then melon then grapes. Itachi was also ticklish. Sasuke had found that out once when accompanying his mother into his older brother's room on his birthday one year. He had watched amusingly as his mother tickled the sides of her son's bare hips, watching as Itachi had amazingly squirmed away from the hands of his mother, even cracking a small laugh before groaning. Itachi also had impeccable manners. Bowing, smiling politely, carrying groceries, opening doors. You name it and he does it.

He kisses his mother on the cheek every day before he leaves the house.

And hugs her every time he returns from his day.

On mother's day, he'll even wake a grumbling Sasuke up early in the morning just to make a special breakfast for their okaa-san in bed. Of course, he assigns Sasuke to make his father's breakfast, knowing how badly Sasuke cooked and didn't want their mother to be poisoned by the horrendous cooking of his little brother. But he'd still try to make it up to his father by making extra food for him as well, subtly throwing Sasuke's weird concoctions into the trash.

After hearing all of these small tidbits of Itachi, Sakura found herself falling even harder for Sasuke's older brother. It gave her even more determination to keep this relationship of theirs going, no matter the distance. She wanted to know this side of him that she was sure he showed nobody. Itachi was a quiet and distant person to outsiders. But she wanted to be that special person of his who he could confide in with his deepest secrets. She wanted to be able to snuggle up to him on cold days, eat popsicles with him in the summer, run her fingers through his black tresses, to comfort him on stressing days and to let him lean into her on tiring days.

She wanted it all.

And for now, she'd continue to keep this connection between them strong.

She had been given a shot at love.

And she was taking it.

* * *

"So, this thing with Itachi. It's real isn't it?" The last question had been more of a confirmation than a question.

Having finally departed from Sasuke, Sakura had found herself in dire need of some girl time and had found her feet leading her straight to the Yamanaka Flower Shop where Ino was languidly watering the various colorful flowers. Upon entering the little shop, Sakura was immediately greeted with the overwhelmingly luscious scents of various flowers and a big hug from her best friend. The flower shop was located in the middle of a bustling street across from the town's best bakery and next to a small gift shop. All of its walls were made of pure glass that cast a beautifully serene glow into the shop and offered plenty of sunlight to some of the growing buds.

On the right were four short rows of various fresh flowers all contained in their separate containers of water stacked high. To the left were several glass tables where fresh vases of flowers sat in gorgeous displays, some of which Sakura had helped to design. Crystals and overhanging lace were strung on some that created a fantasy appearance. The Yamanaka Flower Shop had every type of flower one could imagine, even some medicinal flowers that Sakura would go there to obtain. The shop was small, but that's what made it so comfortable and light. Right upon entering, the front of the counter was located against the backside of the shop. But Sakura's favorite feature was the back wall which was all stuffed with hundreds of various colorful flowers that lit up the room. It was like those libraries that had wall sized shelves filled with books. But instead of books, there were flowers with no gaps in between. Just an endless wall containing different sets of flowers.

Sakura loved going there in the summer time on her days off to sit on top of the counter as she would watch Ino stand on top of a wooden ladder attached to the back wall that could slide around as she arranged the flowers, occasionally giving Sakura a few batches of flowers to take home with her.

But on days like these, Sakura preferred to offer an extra hand in the store. Donning the customary light pink apron, Sakura had taken half the bundle of freshly picked ambrosias and was now sorting them neatly into their position. On the other side of the row that separated her vision from her friend, Ino stood casually trimming the thorns of the red roses.

To answer Ino's previous answer, Sakura looked down nodding even though she knew Ino couldn't see.

"Yea…it's pretty real." Sakura said softly.

Ino peeked around the corner of the row and smiled.

"Man, you love him don't you Sak?"

Letting a small smile tug the corners of her mouth, Sakura giggled like a schoolgirl and turned away from her childhood best friend.

"Ino…" Sakura whined.

Said-friend just shrugged.

"What? I'm just confirming this. I'm really happy for you though Sak, I really am. This is great. I hope it all works out."

"Me too Ino…me too." Sakura repeated quietly.

Just then, a young boy around the age of 14 or 15 walked in with hesitant steps. He was in between those ages of growing taller with wider set shoulders but still had the lankiness of a preteen with boyish features. As he walked in, the boy looked around as if unsure if this was the right place to be.

Ino, upon noticing the shy visitor, flashed a gentle but bright smile at the boy so as to not scare him off.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. What can I get for you today handsome?" Ino carefully shifted the armful of citrus-scented freesias onto the glass table beside her.

"Um…well." The boy furrowed his eyes with a mix of confusion and frustration before biting out, "I'm…not sure actually."

At this comment, Sakura looked up at him. He had a small blush across the bridge of his nose as he shuffled his feet together awkwardly.

"Well..", Ino drew out lightly, "what's the occasion?"

At this question, the boy just seemed to blush even harder.

It took a few several other questions in order to pry his lips open as he eventually revealed that it was for a girl he was kind of/sort of/not really/ a little bit-seeing at the moment. Sakura actually smiled at his insecurity. His expression seemed so unsure that it must have been his first time trying to court a girl. It made her wonder if Itachi ever had experience in courting girls. Frowning at the thought, Sakura quickly turned her attention back to the young teen still standing at the entrance of the shop.

"So you want flowers for your girlfriend?" Ino finally stated, dragging her question out.

"I..-um, yea."

"Great! Do you know what type of flowers she likes?" At this the boy opened his mouth before closing it again and shaking his head.

At this, Ino tilted her head to the side before smiling.

Sakura's lips lifted as well. It was time for Ino to make her magic.

Ever since Ino was little, she had a knack for being able to tell what flower a girl or guy would like. Not just that, but what the flowers meant were extremely important to her. It was, in her point of view, a lost art. A symbol of communication and messages that weren't seen amongst the world today anymore. But every time Ino aided somebody in flower choosing, she always got it right. It was her gift. Just like Sakura's was healing people.

"Do you love this girl?"

The boy's ears quickly turned a glorious shade of bright pink before he looked around incredulously, eyes settling on the glass table.

"I-um. I…"

Smiling in understanding, Ino gently took the boy by the shoulders and steered him deeper into the shop, stationing him in front of the counter where Sakura was currently.

"Wait right here." Ino said before disappearing behind the translucent curtains.

Glancing outside the shop, Sakura noticed a young girl just about the age of boy. Her medium length hair was pulled back by a pink headband as her bright blue eyes sparkled while looking into the bakery and watching the family bakers twist and shape the dough before popping them into the oven.

"So what's her name?" Sakura asked quietly. But the boy still jumped.

"Uh-um, Aiko."

"That's a very pretty name. She looks like a great girl." At this comment, the boy looked up at her confusedly before Sakura nodded towards the girl through the windows as he followed her gaze.

"…yea." The boy breathed out after a while of gazing at her. It made her heart ache; the tenderness to which he looked at her with. The way his eyes softened just at the very sight of her. She was a lucky girl. To have someone love her like that. Sakura could only wish someone would look at her the way that boy looked at his love.

"You know, you should tell her you love her." Sakura commented casually before walking over to arrange the flowers in a vase that sat on the glass table.

"I-I can't"

"And why not?"

"…She probably doesn't love me back."

Sakura's eyes lidded in sympathy.

"How will you ever know if you don't try? You've got one shot at life kid. Take a leap, it won't hurt you. It can only make you stronger."

The teen looked at her with pleading eyes that called out for help in love.

"How do you know…if it's really love?" He asked hesitantly.

Sakura paused in picking at the flowers before wiping her hands on the apron and walking towards the boy.

"Um…well. When you look at the person, your heart races just a bit faster, you become just a bit happier, and just a bit softer. It's love…if you know you can't live without them. If you'd do anything for them. It's love if you can tell them anything and vice versa. Love is…something special that you feel with only one person."

And as Sakura was giving this advice to the young teen that looked so lost, but so in love at the same time, that's when Sakura knew.

That she absolutely _loved_ Uchiha Itachi.

It made her heart hitch in nervousness and excitement at the same time.

Just then, Ino reappeared in a flurry of curtains, carrying a few stems of white, fully bloomed, pure Gardenias with the stems wrapped in a large white bow before handing them to the boy.

Grasping the small bundle of flowers, the boy smiled up at the two women.

After paying and thanking them, the teen was just about to set outside before he turned around.

"Miss, what's the meaning of Gardenias?"

Sakura smiled from her position at the door next to the boy as Ino leaned over the counter and whispered across the room.

"Secret love." His eyes widened slightly before blushing once again and thanking her.

"By the way kiddo, what's your name?"

"Kai" Sakura gave him a bright smile before leaning down towards his form a bit.

"It was very nice to meet you Kai. The next time you come back, I want to see some red roses in your hands alright?" Kai glanced down at the Gardenias in his hand before looking back up at Sakura.

"What do red roses mean?"

"…I love you." Sakura breathed out before winking and giving the boy a small push towards the girl named Aiko that was still enraptured by the bakery.

* * *

The next day had catapulted the pink-haired medic back into regular hospital shifts and possibly a few graveyard shifts. But today had landed the medic in her shishou's office surprisingly, seeing as how Tsunade rarely called her in until the end of the week for briefing.

Once shutting the door behind her with a soft click, Sakura turned back around to face Tsunade who was tapping her pen against an open file, eyes still scanning the page as she took a large gulp of sake.

"You wanted to see me shishou?" Sakura called out hesitantly after several moments of silence. Another few minutes of quietness continued, the scratching sound of the pen scribbling across paper all that was heard for the moment before the pinkette's superior finally looked up.

"Yes I did Sakura." Her shishou merely surveyed her ex-apprentice, chin resting on crossed fingers before continuing.

"I wanted to assign you a task-a very important one to add."

Straightening and squaring off her shoulders, Sakura looked at her expectantly with a slight nod of her head.

"I have to explain what this task entails first before you can accept this assignment."

The serious expression on her shisou left Sakura slightly hesitant. There had only been a handful of occurrences in which Tsunade had ever looked at her with that much intensity.

"This is a very important task to be completed and if you do choose to accept, must be completed in secrecy with no mentioning of it to any others."

Sakura could only nod her head.

"There is a very important man of extremely high standing in another country who is in need of our medical abilities. Ones in which only either you, me, or Shizune may offer. And seeing as how I can't leave, I felt that this would be a very good opportunity for you to grow in your abilities. This man we are dealing with holds a certain illness that needs to be treated with extreme care and precision that can't be trusted by even his town's hospital. We are on very rocky grounds with this country, so doing them this favor could potentially lead to a more…graceful alliance."

The last slip of information gave away not much, seeing as how Konoha was not on friendly grounds with at least four of the other countries, Sakura thought sourly.

"Now, should you choose to accept this task, you'll have to reside in that village for months until he is seen to have healed, which should take up to about three months. I can't give you the name of this patient or the town of residence unless you agree. If you do, you will be leaving within the next day. Living arrangements and schedules have already been made if you decide to go."

Sakura stood there numbly for minute or so, eyes glazed over as she processed the new information.

It was the chance of a lifetime, to go and heal this man who supposedly held high rank in his town. It would give her even more credentials _and_ allow her to learn even more while she was away….but that meant leaving her home. For three months. _At least_. With no friends, no Tsunade to guide her, no home to return to every night…

'_no Sasuke…'_ Sakura mentally thought before rapidly shaking the thought out of her head.

But most importantly…

What about Itachi?

Where would she be? What happened if she got landed out to Iwa? That was as far away as possible from where Itachi was stationed in Kiri. Then what would happen to their letters? He wouldn't even be able to call her in any way. No communication. The thought frightened Sakura to a large extent. But…this was a great task that Tsunade was entrusting to her. How could she refuse? And though she hated to admit it, but a small part inside of her was excited at the idea of being away and independent. She would come back stronger, more knowledgeable. And Itachi…she would still write to him. No matter the distance or the time it took to get each other's letters…she would do it. And if he happened to get released before she got back home, Sakura was certain that Itachi would wait for her return.

So with resolve finally settling within her, Sakura looked back up at Tsunade and with a firm nod of her head, the medic accepted the task.

The look of approval in her shisou's eyes made Sakura's eyes brighten up before turning into slight surprise as a document flew towards her.

On instinct, the pink-haired doctor caught it with fumbling fingers before thumbing the manila folder open and scanning through the page, even skipping the name of the patient, only looking for a name of a town.

Iwa.

Right there on ink, there it was printed. That was her destination. Heart sinking lower with every passing moment, Sakura sighed almost inaudibly before taking her time once more to read over the document.

Name: Juro Nakamura-current highly esteemed diplomat and foreign ambassador. No wonder his identity was kept secret. His position held much authority and if the wrong people discovered how ill he was, there would be no stopping in sabotages for his life. Rescanning his profile, Sakura spotted another thing that popped out to her.

Place of Birth: Iwa.

Current Residence: Kiri

Eyes frantically rescanning and rescanning the document, Sakura took in the information. So…this Nakamura ambassador…was currently in Kiri…

She was going to Kiri.

Letters

Distance

Itachi.

_Itachi._

She was going to be in the same city as Itachi.

_Sakura possibly had the chance of seeing Itachi._

The mere thought of finally being able to see him made her heart skip a beat and then speed up dangerously fast. But trying not to get her hopes up, Sakura took deep calming breaths. After all, he was in a training camp. No visitors allowed most likely. But _still_.

Allowing a beaming smile, Sakura bowed to Tsunade.

"I accept"

"Good. You leave first thing in the morning. Pack your bags and medical supplies. There will be someone at the gates to assist you in your travels which should take about three to four days- depends on what your mode of transportation is across the sea…" Tsunade put in thoughtfully before continuing, "I won't be at the gates to wish you well tomorrow unfortunately. So I guess that this means I should wish you the best right now. Keep me posted with letters and I want status updates every week on how the patient is doing. Take care of yourself Sak." Walking around her large wooden desk, her shisou showed a rare moment of affection by pulling her little apprentice close to her chest.

Finally bidding goodbye to Tsunade, Sakura packed up her medical supplies into a small bag before heading out into the setting sun of the village quickly to head back to her apartment.

* * *

"Sak, you can't." If not for the achingly pleading expression in her best friend's eyes, Sakura would have laughed.

Sakura had gotten home with every intention of quickly stuffing everything needed into a large duffel bag until thinking better and calling Sasuke over to tell him the news. And now he was left trailing almost on her heel, following her every movement as she quickly grabbed her essentials, tossing them haphazardly into the large bag sitting atop her unmade bed.

Not missing a beat, Sakura quickly grabbed extra soap from the bottom cabinet before tossing it into her bag.

"But Sasuke-this is a chance for me to learn something new that I won't be able to get here!" Behind her, she could hear Sasuke grow agitated, almost desperate as he tried to block her pathway, steal the items in her hands…_anything_, in order to prevent her from continuing her packing. Making a beeline for the towels stacked on top of her cabinet shelves, Sakura reached on her tip toes, eyes set on a fluffy green towel until she was firmly stopped when a pair of strong hands grasped her waist and in one swift motion, had lifted her with ease and sat her down on top of the cabinet with a glaring Sasuke caging her in.

"_Sakura, listen._" Sasuke growled. The entire time he had been trying to get her attention with futile attempts. Well, now he had it.

Glaring back down at him, Sakura crossed her arms before huffing.

"Fine Sasuke, what do you want to say to me that will _still_ not change my mind in going?"

She heard him release a harsh breath caught between a laugh and a sign of frustration.

"You're my best friend."

Simple

Something so understated made such a loud statement in her head. His quiet words as he looked up into her emerald eyes held meaning. It really pained her to have to leave her one great friend.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sakura looked down.

"I promise I'll write everyday"

Sasuke groaned quietly at that, burying his head into the crook of her neck.

"But that'll take forever." He grumbled. Sakura laughed softly before burying her hands into his soft raven locks, brushing through his strands in a comforting manner, hugging him closer to her as she felt arms encircle her mid section as well.

"I know", Sakura started off quietly, "but I'll be back in just three months okay? Three months, it's really not that long" Sakura tried her best to console her raven-haired friend. He merely mumbled something incoherently before tugging her form off the cabinet whilst carrying her back to her room to set her down on the bed.

Then with a huff and a look of defeat, Sasuke began to grumpily collect the necessary items for her, throwing them into her duffel as Sakura sat on the bed with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes as laughter bubbled up into her throat.

Once he was done and had yanked the zipper up, Sakura had finally allowed a breathless laugh to escape her lips before lifting herself up onto her knees, still on the bed while outstretching her arms and calling for her friend.

"Oh, Sasuke. Come to Sak." She lilted out, seeing as he looked like a stubborn child at the moment. As he shuffled into her arms, head down, he then gave her the most heartfelt hug she'd felt from _anyone_ in a long time. Even on her knees on the bed, she was still a good few inches shorter than her, seeing as how she had to reach her arms up to encircle them around his neck.

"Oh I'll miss you Sasuke" Sakura whispered into his chest as she felt Sasuke nod against her shoulder.

"Yea…me too Sak. More than you'll know" He sighed out.

* * *

Finally having made a small meal together and scarfing it down while watching Sakura's favorite chick flick over a tub of mint chip ice cream, Sasuke had finally turned off the tv with a stern look before scooping up his pink-haired friend into his arms and retreating into her bedroom. There, they had quickly changed before settling under the covers. Sasuke had stayed over quite enough times that she had a good collection of his clothes stacked into her drawers. Usually, they would fall asleep about a half a foot away from each other and wake up tangled up (in a purely noncommittal casual fashion) manner. But tonight, Sakura allowed herself to be pulled into the warmth of Sasuke's chest as they fell asleep in a light embrace, hearing the steady thumping of each other's heartbeat beating strongly.

.

.

Dawn had come all too soon and had left Sakura groaning as she had tried to snuggle deeper into the sleeping man's chest. But knowing that she had a long journey ahead of her, Sakura had forced herself to untangle herself from the warmth before slipping into the bathroom for a quick shower.

By the time she had finished, Sakura had found Sasuke already up with breakfast waiting for her and a small smile on his face. They had quickly eaten, packed, and headed towards the gate in no time.

Now, standing at the entrance of the gates, Sakura had bid goodbye to her other friends, still grasping the bright sunflower that Ino had tearfully given her.

The small car was already warmed up with its engine running, ready to go at any given moment.

Turning around to Sasuke, she looked up at him. He had his hands shoved deep into his pockets, looking down.

"Sasuke-"

"I really _really_ hate goodbyes." Sasuke murmured.

Sakura's chest immediately tightened in sadness as she took the few steps to close the distance between them and hug him to her.

"Oh course this isn't goodbye you silly boy." Sakura chided softly into his ear.

"I'll call every single day. And I expect you to do the same to say goodnight to me. I'll see you in three months and if you seriously ever really want to, you know you can always visit me." The pinkette reassured her friend. He looked like a lost child that it made her heart clench painfully.

"Take care of yourself Sak." Was all Sasuke could get out, head still buried deep into the side of her neck, breathing in the scent that he knew he wouldn't smell in a while.

"You know I will. I gotta go now. I'll call you when I get there Sasuke" Grasping either side of his face, Sakura placed a gently kiss on top of his forehead before pecking one more onto his cheek.

"Love you!" Sakura said cheerfully before slipping away from his grasp, waving and entering the car, but not before hearing a soft reciprocation.

"love you too Sak."

Smiling, Sakura settled back into her seat and stared out the window, ready for the next couple of days with excitement. Every day traveled meant everyday closer to Itachi. And that was all that mattered.

* * *

_6/2/11_

_Dear Itachi,_

_So the cold rainy season in Konoha has finally let up and today has a nice cool breeze rolling in. The sun feels like it's beating down on my skin. But the clouds are fluffy and abundant, just how I like them. It reminds me of the time I traveled to Switzerland with my parents. We went up to this mountain that was completely covered in long green grass and wildflowers. There was this small stream at the bottom that ran the clearest water I've even seen and the wind was achingly cold. I really like this weather, it feels like I'm being refreshed and brought back from the cold days. Everything at work is the same and there really hasn't been much of a change. Seeing as how I'm not sick or injured, I'd say your brother has been doing a pretty good job in making sure that I remain in one piece, haha. But…I wish you were the one here with me. Just today actually, I went to lunch with him and for dessert, we had mitarashi dango; your favorite. It made me wonder how you're doing…do they give you dango? …That…must be a pretty silly question. But I'm still wondering! We sat down for a while and just talked, about our days…about you. Sasuke told me that you recently moved stations to Kiri. That's…unbelievably far away and when he told me, I admit that my heart took quite a toll. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to write to each other for some time, knowing how long each letter will take to get to us. But I'm still trying to be optimistic. I can't wait until you can finally come home. I know it seems strange that I haven't even formally met you yet, but I feel as though I've known you for ages already. _

_I'm sorry that I have to cut this letter pretty short, but actually…I have some packing to do. I would like to say that I have good news, but I'm really not sure if it is. I still can't decide. I just don't want to distract you from your training and all. But the reason I'm packing is because Tsunade gave me an important assignment that was to be completed in a separate village should I accept it. And after a while of contemplating, I accepted the assignment. I just remember standing in front of her desk for a while, debating the pros and cons of traveling to this country. I wouldn't be able to know of its location until after I accepted. My biggest concern was what if I suddenly got sent all the way to Iwa or something? Then we'd be on complete ends from each other. And then you wouldn't know my address and I wouldn't know your address and…it'd just be completely chaotic. But…I realized that it was an opportunity of a life time, to take on this task. And so finally…I accepted. And when I opened the document and read where I was going, my heart nearly stopped. _

_Destination: Kiri_

_Yup! Itachi, I'm going to be traveling to Kiri! Can you believe it? Tomorrow morning I'll be heading out to go to Kiri! I really don't want to get my hopes up, but we'll be so close to each other! Kiri's a really small village and our letters to each other would be quicker and less of a barrier! But, ah…I really don't want to be a distraction to you. I know that there's really no chance of me being able to see you for the three months I'm supposed to stay there, but it's just the fact of knowing I'll be less than five miles away from you that makes me so excited. But I'm definitely also excited for this task. I don't want to disappoint Tsunade-shisou. But I guess only time will reveal all. So I'm heading over tomorrow and will probably arrive within three or four days, depending on how I get there. But outside of the envelope, I included my new address, so just write to this one since by the time you get this, I'll probably already be in Kiri and living at the address written on the envelope. So be safe Itachi and remember to eat! And stay healthy and hydrated! Important! Very! So I hope to talk to you really really realllyyyy soon! Take care._

_Love,_

_Sakura_

* * *

Four days.

It had taken her that long to finally reach her destination. They had originally started off in a small car that bumbled slowly along the dirt road as she travelled farther and farther away from the place she called home. The forest scenery had eventually faded into large hilltops of green as the breeze from the ocean became more apparent. Finally the driver had arrived at the sandy dock of the shore just as her watch ticked at the three a.m. mark. Personally, Sakura felt extremely guilty for the driver having to drive for so long with only stops to get meals. But as they had finally reached the shore, the driver had given her further directions on the rest of her journey, wished her the best of luck, and had driven off somewhere. The thought of where he'd possibly be going to at three a.m. passed through the pinkette's mind, but not for long seeing as she was tired as hell and far too stiff from sitting all day.

After quickly purchasing a room in a beachside hotel for just a few hours, Sakura had literally stumbled into the room with her suitcases before nearly collapsing on the bed situated across the room with a large balcony that overlooked the currently dark pit of ocean.

The following three days were probably the worst. Her instructions were to take the eight a.m. ferry to Whirlpool Country. Sakura had nearly groaned at the sight of the fairly small boat that looked as if a small baby wave could rock over its thin frame. But sucking it up, Sakura had grudgingly dry swallowed headache medicine before stepping onto the ferry.

The trip to Whirlpool Country took most of the day until dinner time as they finally docked there. The next boat was due the day after the next, which gave the doctor an extra day to idly roam through the town she was in that was still beside the seaside. Lazying around seemed to do some good to her, for the next day, her spirits were in better condition as she laid her eyes gratefully on the speed boat that was to take her to her destination bright and early in the morning.

And when they had finally painstakingly docked, Sakura had stared up at the ginormously tall walls of the city that was being closely watched by guards. But once entering through the gates, Sakura had found herself being taken to the northern part of the city in a carriage to where her new apartment was located.

Yes.

A carriage.

Complete with a chestnut-mane horse, driver…(or…_'rider'? _ Sakura thought), and a small squarish-shaped container.

The pink-haired doctor found that she quite liked the city and wouldn't mind staying here for the next few months. The city was very much water based, but still contained local dirt streets and bustling villagers. It was almost a bit rural but somehow contained city elements as well. And as they stopped in front of her apartment building, Sakura's eyes widened.

Man had Tsunade one-upped her apartment back in Konoha.

The apartment complex was extremely tall, so much so that Sakura could even spot the Kiri medical center from her bedroom window. She was located on the 20th floor out of 36 floors. It was mind boggling, but Sakura never minded heights all that much. Plus, the view from the living room windows (or any window for that matter) was absolutely stunning. It was complete with city lights and spots of hilltops and lush green grass.

It had taken Sakura the entire next day to set up her makeshift apartment for the time being. She had gone down to the medical center to greet all of the workers and superiors as well as meet the head of the center. Though the petite doctor hated admitting it, but she knew that the quality of medics located in Kiri were nowhere near the caliber to what Konoha medics performed at.

She had also been introduced to Juro-san. He was an old man somewhere in this late 60's with average height and an easy smile. He had been lying in the V.I.P. section of the medical wing under a false name where only the head medic of the center, Kei-san, could go to. Sakura had conversed with the man for quite some time and liked his laid-back and joking demeanor. He had a kind face that was aged with wisdom and made her feel like he was her grandpa or something akin to that. It made Sakura want to stay all day and help cure his strange disease. But after a few hours, she could see the slight exhaustion marring his face and had politely excused herself.

The hours were spent at the Kiri street markets which operated in a fairly similar way to that of Konoha's. She had come back from a long day of shopping with an armful of food, kitchen supplies, and others such as bed sheets, detergent, and other necessities.

.

.

Just settling into her third day in Kiri, though, Sakura had been wiping away the last dish before depositing it in her kitchen sink. The living room window was Sakura's favorite part of the entire apartment. It expanded through the entire wall of the living room almost resembling a wall sized window, but only the top half of the wall was all window. But it gave her a beautiful panoramic view of the city which took on a lovely glow during sunset. Her favorite feature about the window was the left side of the window-wall, which was pushed out into a semicircle so that if she looked down from it, she could see the bottom of the streets. The semi circle window's bottom half was all cushion seating though, almost like a small bed so Sakura could curl up on.

Which was what she was doing right now.

Leaning against one side of the semi-circle window, Sakura nursed a cup of jasmine tea in her cold hands before looking idly out at the window. The weather at Kiri was much chillier than other countries, mainly since it was surrounded by the ocean and contained small waterfalls throughout its country which drifted its occasional sprays of water through the village.

As Sakura's thoughts drifted towards the thoughts of her friends and family back in Konoha, the medic's inner ramblings were cut off short when she heard the distinct distant sound of heavy footfalls in a rhythmic manner. Brows furrowing in slight confusion, she slightly perched onto her knees, looking around until she had her cheek pressed against the outer most part of the semi circle window. And there she saw it, the unmistakable figures dressed in dark forest green in impeccably straight lines jogging around a large courtyard.

It was the training grounds.

Where Itachi must be.

All of a sudden, countless of questions rushed through her head, bombarding her until she couldn't think straight. Was he out in the courtyard? Would she be able to see him from the window? Do they allow visitors? Did he want to see her?

Tea now left cold on the ground beside the cushion seats of the window, Sakura had haphazardly shoved her feet into her shoes before running outside in the cold afternoon, not caring that she was dressed in her pj pants and large knit sweater.

Breath coming out in white puffs of air, Sakura kept a brisk jog until the gates she had seen from her window appeared. Coming to a stop in from of the gates, she looked up at the guard, a nice looking man regardless of his large frame and muscular torso.

"Can I be of assistance to you Miss?" The man's deep voice reverberated through the stillness of the air as Sakura managed to catch her breath.

"..um..y..yea. Are these men training for the Konoha military?" The man gave a short nod.

"Do they…" Sakura hesitated, fearing she would sound idiotic, "do they accept visitors?" Sakura's voice contained a slightly pained edge of hope. And the guard must have noticed, for he had given her an apologetic smile before shaking his head.

"No, I'm sorry Miss. Since they are in training, they aren't allowed visitors. But you are free to write letters."

Smiling ruefully at the man, Sakura nodded her head.

"Yea…I know." Sakura stated softly before turning around to head back, but not before catching a man within the gates looking at her almost familiarly.

Who was he?

Did she know him?

Dressed in the standard dark green mesh shirt and baggy cargo pants, he was in the line of men doing something that Sakura assumed to be exercise drills, push-ups, jumping jacks and the like. But he had slowed in his movements as he stared into her eyes before stopping altogether.

Turning back around to face him fully, Sakura tilted her head to the side, almost as if in question to him. Quite startlingly, the man suddenly let out one of the most brilliantly bright smiles she's seen before, almost as bright as Naruto's. His hand rose halfway to wave and just as he opened his mouth, the head of the squad spotted him and had barked at him to get back into formation. Seeing him flinch, he had belted back in compliance, falling back into the drills all the while keeping his eyes locked with her as if afraid that she would disappear once he blinked. His gaze upon her looked pleading almost but excited and this only served to confuse the pinkette even further.

She was sure she would have remembered him if she had ever met him before. But…he looked so familiar. Yet, not really.

Her thoughts were broken when the guard had called to her questioningly. And that's when Sakura painfully ripped her emerald orbs away from the mysterious man's and turned around before heading back to her apartment.

* * *

Soon after, the man's strange gaze was almost stored away deep into her mind as Sakura's medical duties called to her day after day. She didn't really know why he had been looking at her for so long or why he had smiled and almost called out to her. But the doctor knew she couldn't focus on that. Her entire being was to be thrown into the diagnosis and healing of Juro-san.

And so that's what she focused on for the following weeks. Every day it was the same routine of wake-up, heal him, come back home, and eat dinner. Afterwards would be spent curled up on the window seat with a mug of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate on certain days as she stared down into the courtyard of the training facility-each day with muted hope that it would be the day that she could catch even just a glimpse of the man she was falling in love with.

* * *

"Baby cousin."

Said-cousin merely raised an eyebrow up at the man standing before him, eyes not once leaving the paper in front of him.

After so many years of his older cousin addressing him in that way, Itachi had finally gotten used to the name and answered to it.

Feeling his bed dip slightly, Itachi paid no mind to it as he continued to look over the letter, a small smile gently adorning his face.

"I think I saw Sakura today."

What?

Head snapping up fast, Itachi looked intensely at his cousin, waiting for an explanation.

"It was in the courtyard right before dinner. She was at the gates and I swear I saw her Itachi. Pink hair…the greenest eyes I've ever seen, nose all pink and huffing. And I tried to call out to her, but my captain caught me before that. But she saw me. She definitely saw me. Does she know of me?"

Itachi merely nodded his head numbly, swallowing the dry lump that was forming in his throat.

"Yes," he finally croaked, "I've told her about you, but she doesn't know of your appearance." He finished softly.

But as he quickly scanned over her letter, his heart hitched when he found that she was indeed, in Kiri.

"She's here." Itachi finally said, "on a medical assignment. Her letter just came in today."

Shisui smiled before chuckling lightly.

"Well then. I believe it's time for you to meet the love of your life 'Tachi-Kun"

* * *

The day had been not as great as normal. The pink-haired doctor just couldn't seem to find the right balance between medications in order to treat Juro-san. It seemed that each time she fed him a ratio of medicines, another problem soon appeared. And today was extremely cold and Sakura had been asked to take on a shift at the Kiri Medical Center to overlook patients and do the occasional healing so she had arrived back to her apartment at nearly ten p.m. And really, Sakura knew she shouldn't be complaining since back at home her regular shifts ended her normally at around ten p.m., if not even later on most days. She had just been so used to the shorter days when she could arrive back at home before dinner time. But as soon as she spotted the familiar elegant scrawl of handwriting on a certain envelope, Sakura had squealed in delight before leaping into her bed to read the recently written letter.

* * *

_6/18/11_

_Dear Sakura,_

_I am most definitely glad to hear that you are well and even more pleased to know that you are currently located within Kiri, though I do extend my condolences for the continuous cold weather just when the weather in Konoha was warming considerably. But I have come to enjoy the ongoing light breeze the occasionally rolls throughout this city. I am always contained within these training grounds but I can see the stunning view from the gates of the courtyard. This reminds me of another thought though. My cousin today had informed me that he had spotted you near the gates of the training grounds. I believe that I have never described my cousin's appearance before in any of my letters. But I am sure that the man you saw was my overly-excited cousin, Shisui Uchiha. _

_And though I quite hate in admitting it, I am very envious of my older cousin, for he has been able to rest his eyes on you. I have waited countless days until my release date so I can finally arrive home in hopes of being able to see you. He said you had the softest shade of pink tresses and the most brilliant emerald eyes. I do deeply regret not being in the courtyard today for I have missed my opportunity of greeting you. I am not quite sure of when I will be able to see you, but I greatly hope that it will be soon. I wish to confirm Shisui's description of you that I am sure does not give you the justice you deserve. But we have three months within the same city together so I am sure we will be able to figure out a way of seeing each other. I am very well and healthy at the moment and I owe a great deal of that to your concern and kind letters. It gives me a hope that there are better things in life than just war and blood. You have been my savior within these long months confined in these walls. I wait for the day when we will be able to see each other every day-greet each other every day –spend time with each other every day. My sentiments in this letter, to me, feel like movie-worthy lines. But I do not know any other ways to express my current feelings towards you Sakura. I find myself drawn to your spirit and I can only hope that you return my sentiments. But until next time, please take care of yourself and I wish you the greatest of wishes for your assignment._

_Love,_

_Itachi _

* * *

__A/N: Hihi! Welcome to the end-of-the-chapter-note! So this chapter was definietly longer than most others, probably double the length of my usual chapters, but it's to make up for my long hiatus. To those who still stick with my story, thank you guys so much for reading! If you haven't read already, but i posted a oneshot of Sakura nd Sasuke up on Valentine's Day, it's just something that was short and sweet but it doesn't relate to this story, so if you guys want to, go check it out and tell me what you think! So this story is beginning it's end and will probably be wrapped up in the next four to five chapters maybe? But i'll be updating more frequently and as soon as possible. Comment on what you guys thought of this chapters and predictions for what'll happen next! Thank you guys for all of the support, your love is what keeps me writing! So until next time,

-chicken


	9. Chapter 9

Hello my lovely readers! I can't even put into words how sorry I am for not updating in the longest of times (9 months to be exact D: ) I guess I mainly just didn't know how to continue the plot at the moment. I pretty much know how the story will end, but it's just these last few chapters that I'm really struggling with. Life's been pretty fast-paced at the moment haha. I just started college and midterms just passed so now that I have some down time with Thanksgiving coming up, I was finally able to really build up enough courage and excitement to write out this chapter! Thank you so sosososoooo much to all of you out there who still keep up with this story. I read through most of your guys' past reviews and that really was the true reason that I finally decided to update. You guys keep me motivated and so happy all the time so I'm eternally grateful to all of you out there! So thank you again for sticking through this one heck of a journey with me and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, read, and review! :DD Lots of love 3

* * *

_Previous Chapter:_

_Just settling into her third day in Kiri, though, Sakura had been wiping away the last dish before depositing it in her kitchen sink. The living room window was Sakura's favorite part of the entire apartment. It expanded through the entire wall of the living room almost resembling a wall sized window, but only the top half of the wall was all window. But it gave her a beautiful panoramic view of the city which took on a lovely glow during sunset. Her favorite feature about the window was the left side of the window-wall, which was pushed out into a semicircle so that if she looked down from it, she could see the bottom of the streets. The semi circle window's bottom half was all cushion seating though, almost like a small bed so Sakura could curl up on._

_Which was what she was doing right now._

_Leaning against one side of the semi-circle window, Sakura nursed a cup of jasmine tea in her cold hands before looking idly out at the window. The weather at Kiri was much chillier than other countries, mainly since it was surrounded by the ocean and contained small waterfalls throughout its country which drifted its occasional sprays of water through the village._

_As Sakura's thoughts drifted towards the thoughts of her friends and family back in Konoha, the medic's inner ramblings were cut off short when she heard the distinct distant sound of heavy footfalls in a rhythmic manner. Brows furrowing in slight confusion, she slightly perched onto her knees, looking around until she had her cheek pressed against the outer most part of the semi circle window. And there she saw it, the unmistakable figures dressed in dark forest green in impeccably straight lines jogging around a large courtyard._

_It was the training grounds._

_Where Itachi must be._

_All of a sudden, countless of questions rushed through her head, bombarding her until she couldn't think straight. Was he out in the courtyard? Would she be able to see him from the window? Do they allow visitors? Did he want to see her?_

_Tea now left cold on the ground beside the cushion seats of the window, Sakura had haphazardly shoved her feet into her shoes before running outside in the cold afternoon, not caring that she was dressed in her pj pants and large knit sweater._

_Breath coming out in white puffs of air, Sakura kept a brisk jog until the gates she had seen from her window appeared. Coming to a stop in from of the gates, she looked up at the guard, a nice looking man regardless of his large frame and muscular torso._

_"Can I be of assistance to you Miss?" The man's deep voice reverberated through the stillness of the air as Sakura managed to catch her breath._

_"..um..y..yea. Are these men training for the Konoha military?" The man gave a short nod._

_"Do they…" Sakura hesitated, fearing she would sound idiotic, "do they accept visitors?" Sakura's voice contained a slightly pained edge of hope. And the guard must have noticed, for he had given her an apologetic smile before shaking his head._

_"No, I'm sorry Miss. Since they are in training, they aren't allowed visitors. But you are free to write letters."_

_Smiling ruefully at the man, Sakura nodded her head._

_"Yea…I know." Sakura stated softly before turning around to head back, but not before catching a man within the gates looking at her almost familiarly._

_Who was he?_

_Did she know him?_

_Dressed in the standard dark green mesh shirt and baggy cargo pants, he was in the line of men doing something that Sakura assumed to be exercise drills, push-ups, jumping jacks and the like. But he had slowed in his movements as he stared into her eyes before stopping altogether._

_Turning back around to face him fully, Sakura tilted her head to the side, almost as if in question to him. Quite startlingly, the man suddenly let out one of the most brilliantly bright smiles she's seen before, almost as bright as Naruto's. His hand rose halfway to wave and just as he opened his mouth, the head of the squad spotted him and had barked at him to get back into formation. Seeing him flinch, he had belted back in compliance, falling back into the drills all the while keeping his eyes locked with her as if afraid that she would disappear once he blinked. His gaze upon her looked pleading almost but excited and this only served to confuse the pinkette even further._

_She was sure she would have remembered him if she had ever met him before. But…he looked so familiar. Yet, not really._

_Her thoughts were broken when the guard had called to her questioningly. And that's when Sakura painfully ripped her emerald orbs away from the mysterious man's and turned around before heading back to her apartment._

_Soon after, the man's strange gaze was almost stored away deep into her mind as Sakura's medical duties called to her day after day. She didn't really know why he had been looking at her for so long or why he had smiled and almost called out to her. But the doctor knew she couldn't focus on that. Her entire being was to be thrown into the diagnosis and healing of Juro-san._

_And so that's what she focused on for the following weeks. Every day it was the same routine of wake-up, heal him, come back home, and eat dinner. Afterwards would be spent curled up on the window seat with a mug of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate on certain days as she stared down into the courtyard of the training facility-each day with muted hope that it would be the day that she could catch even just a glimpse of the man she was falling in love with._

_"Baby cousin."_

_Said-cousin merely raised an eyebrow up at the man standing before him, eyes not once leaving the paper in front of him._

_After so many years of his older cousin addressing him in that way, Itachi had finally gotten used to the name and answered to it._

_Feeling his bed dip slightly, Itachi paid no mind to it as he continued to look over the letter, a small smile gently adorning his face._

_"I think I saw Sakura today."_

_What?_

_Head snapping up fast, Itachi looked intensely at his cousin, waiting for an explanation._

_"It was in the courtyard right before dinner. She was at the gates and I swear I saw her Itachi. Pink hair…the greenest eyes I've ever seen, nose all pink and huffing. And I tried to call out to her, but my captain caught me before that. But she saw me. She definitely saw me. Does she know of me?"_

_Itachi merely nodded his head numbly, swallowing the dry lump that was forming in his throat._

_"Yes," he finally croaked, "I've told her about you, but she doesn't know of your appearance." He finished softly._

_But as he quickly scanned over her letter, his heart hitched when he found that she was indeed, in Kiri._

_"She's here." Itachi finally said, "on a medical assignment. Her letter just came in today."_

_Shisui smiled before chuckling lightly._

_"Well then. I believe it's time for you to meet the love of your life 'Tachi-Kun"_

_The day had been not as great as normal. The pink-haired doctor just couldn't seem to find the right balance between medications in order to treat Juro-san. It seemed that each time she fed him a ratio of medicines, another problem soon appeared. And today was extremely cold and Sakura had been asked to take on a shift at the Kiri Medical Center to overlook patients and do the occasional healing so she had arrived back to her apartment at nearly ten p.m. And really, Sakura knew she shouldn't be complaining since back at home her regular shifts ended her normally at around ten p.m., if not even later on most days. She had just been so used to the shorter days when she could arrive back at home before dinner time. But as soon as she spotted the familiar elegant scrawl of handwriting on a certain envelope, Sakura had squealed in delight before leaping into her bed to read the recently written letter._

_6/18/11_

_Dear Sakura,_

_I am most definitely glad to hear that you are well and even more pleased to know that you are currently located within Kiri, though I do extend my condolences for the continuous cold weather just when the weather in Konoha was warming considerably. But I have come to enjoy the ongoing light breeze the occasionally rolls throughout this city. I am always contained within these training grounds but I can see the stunning view from the gates of the courtyard. This reminds me of another thought though. My cousin today had informed me that he had spotted you near the gates of the training grounds. I believe that I have never described my cousin's appearance before in any of my letters. But I am sure that the man you saw was my overly-excited cousin, Shisui Uchiha._

_And though I quite hate in admitting it, I am very envious of my older cousin, for he has been able to rest his eyes on you. I have waited countless days until my release date so I can finally arrive home in hopes of being able to see you. He said you had the softest shade of pink tresses and the most brilliant emerald eyes. I do deeply regret not being in the courtyard today for I have missed my opportunity of greeting you. I am not quite sure of when I will be able to see you, but I greatly hope that it will be soon. I wish to confirm Shisui's description of you that I am sure does not give you the justice you deserve. But we have three months within the same city together so I am sure we will be able to figure out a way of seeing each other. I am very well and healthy at the moment and I owe a great deal of that to your concern and kind letters. It gives me a hope that there are better things in life than just war and blood. You have been my savior within these long months confined in these walls. I wait for the day when we will be able to see each other every day-greet each other every day –spend time with each other every day. My sentiments in this letter, to me, feel like movie-worthy lines. But I do not know any other ways to express my current feelings towards you Sakura. I find myself drawn to your spirit and I can only hope that you return my sentiments. But until next time, please take care of yourself and I wish you the greatest of wishes for your assignment._

_Love,_

_Itachi_

* * *

.

.

_21 Letters_

_Chapter Nine_

_._

_._

* * *

July had rolled by quickly and along with it, the humid heat of the season. The streets were crowded with villagers bustling about with twice the usual amount of people walking through the dirt streets. Street vendors of all kinds could be found waving customers in while attempting to charmingly sell them their products.

For one pink-haired medic though, was misery brought in the form of sweat and exhaustion. With the merciless hot rays of the sun beating down onto Sakura, she grumbled under her breath continuously while trudging through the throng of people.

"_Ohh, it's Kiri! The weather's gonna be so nice during the summer! You won't feel a thing!"_ Sakura mimicked Ino's high-pitched breath, tossing her hands side to side.

"Won't feel a thing my ass…" The medic muttered while angrily wiping sweat off her brow.

Though the village was located on an island, the cold sea winds did no help with the summer heat. That along with the densely packed amount of people in the streets quickly escalated the temperature to unbearable in Sakura's books. With a bundle of medicinal herbs tucked under her arm and reading texts in the other, Sakura made her way swiftly past various streets, glancing along different shops.

The mid-summer festival was approaching soon, causing the villagers of Kiri to begin preparing for that one spectacular night. Sakura had heard of the festival countless times before by many of her friends back in Konoha who had been lucky enough to travel to Kiri just at the time that the festival would happen. There were rumors of fireworks, food, dancing, shopping, festivities, and something about a fish that Naruto had mentioned once...

Sakura quickly shook the thought out of her head. She remembered vividly of the time Ino came back from her two week long stay in Kiri with a long heavy garment bag thrown over her shoulder. After much fussing, the two had unzipped the bag to find, in Sakura's eyes, the most beautiful kimono to have graced her emerald green eyes. And it had been a gift from Ino to Sakura.

Smiling, the pink-haired doctor laughed softly at the memory of her practically pouncing on Ino the moment she had seen it. Simultaneously, a wave of homesickness washed over her, making her slow in her tracks. It had been just over one month in Sakura's stay at Kirigakure with just two letters passing between her and Itachi.

_Itachi._

Flushing at even the thought of the Uchiha, Sakura ducked her head. As mean as it sounded, Sakura wished it was Itachi instead of Shisui that she had seen at the gates of the training facility. Though it was nice to see someone of relation to Itachi, Sakura knew she was being greedy and picky and had hoped to see the man that she loved.

.

.

Closing the door behind her in a rush to escape the heat, Sakura quickly flipped on the air conditioner before changing into her pjs and flopping down onto the bed. Tucking a hand behind her head of pink tresses, Sakura stared up at the ceiling with Itachi's last letter clutched loosely between her nimble fingers.

'_He was perfect in every way.'_

That was the first thought that popped into Sakura's head once her racing mind had settled down a bit and her thoughts began to process more clearly. Her mind automatically began to run words through her head that described Uchiha Itachi.

He was kind. Caring. Thoughtful. Witty. Gentle. Humorous. Patient. Intelligent. Deep. And strong. More so that in just one way.

And she was absolutely, completely, utterly, wholeheartedly

In love with him.

In love with Uchiha Itachi.

"I'm…in love with Uchiha Itachi…hah…" Sakura whispered out before letting out a small huff of laughter at the end, ensuring to herself that she had gone mad. Allowing the full effect of her words to finally sink in, the pink-haired doctor finally fell back onto her bed before smushing her face into the pillows and letting out a girlish squeal-flailing limbs and all.

To finally acknowledge these feelings out loud were novel to Sakura. And she wasn't sure how to go about it anymore. Part of her wanted to run as fast as she could towards Itachi and fling her arms around his neck. Part of her didn't know what to do out of nervousness and butterflies. It was like high school all over again. And then another part of her mind began to raise doubts.

What if he didn't love her back?

What if he thought of her only as a good friend or companion?

Sure Sasuke had confirmed Itachi's feelings towards her but still…

Turning her head throughout the room, her bright green eyes landed on the vase of colorful orange and pink freesias sitting by her windowsill, reminding Sakura of the young boy in Ino's flower shop who had been so reluctant to share his feelings with the one he loved. Upon telling Sakura his doubts, she thought back to what she had advised to the uncertain boy.

"_How will you ever know if you don't try? You've got one shot at life kid. Take a leap, it won't hurt you. It can only make you stronger." _

Maybe it was time that she listened to her own advice.

* * *

"Doctor Haruno, there's a general meeting with the Directors in five!" Megumi, the nurse-in-training popped her head around the corner to inform the medic.

Wiping her mouth while swallowing a large bite of her lunch, Sakura smiled and thanked Megumi-chan. Such a sweet girl, but such nervous hands. Chuckling slightly, the pink-haired doctor quickly wolfed down the last remnants of her soba and salmon (Itachi's favorite, which Sakura had come to realize was a delicious combo) before collecting her notes and heading out.

.

.

Heels clicking on the linoleum floors, the medic rounded the corner towards the heavy set double doors that encased all staff personnel inside. Having been to many of these kinds of meetings back in Konoha, Sakura had gotten accustomed to the ones in Kiri quite quickly. The only difference, Sakura noticed, would be the branching of the doctors. Sakura had caught on quickly to the Kirigakure General Hospital's work strategies in locating various medics across the village. In many cases, the Directors and Heads would evaluate the various doctors and their skills sets. Different doctors specializing in different fields would get sent to private calls of illnesses or health issues that targeted those specific skills. Being a doctor that had taken more of an interest in cardiovascular illnesses mainly concerning the lungs and vital organs, Sakura had been already assigned to cases within her month study which required her to commute distances as far as one hour through Kiri.

After several meetings which always had her exiting with at least two patients to see outside of the hospital, Sakura had learned quickly to expect a commute soon after whenever a general meeting was called.

Using all of her weight, the pink-haired doctor grasped the cold metal handle of the meeting room and hefted it open.

A rush of cold air burst through the room as Sakura inwardly sighed at the cool wind that greeted her-along with the twelve board members of the Hospital. Giving a slight bow towards the already seated members, the pink-haired doctor quietly took a seat closest to the entrance, not wanting to have to squish past everyone else already seated. Settling down into her seat, the medic inwardly groaned before rubbing her temples, knowing that this would be a long and tedious meeting.

.

.

With a low and content sigh, the medic half-slinked, half-collapsed through her apartment doors after a graveyard shift. The meeting hadn't just been an assignment of cases, but also had covered areas such as stocks, general administration, and budgeting-three things that bored the petite doctor the most. That, on top of a graveyard shift and Sakura was thoroughly exhausted when she finally made it home.

Not bothering to shower at the moment, she grabbed a handful of power bars from the kitchen counter and made her way towards the bedroom, several cases tucked under one arm. She remembered her Kiri mentor had mentioned something about a military chief that needed attention or something like that. Sakura had been too distracted by the cat purring in her mentor's arms which she seems to always carry around…

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Sakura quickly scanned each document-blinking hard once in a while to keep herself awake.

'_7 year old boy located near out-town with scar tissue in his lungs…'_

"Poor boy…" Sakura tsked softly, understanding the pain he must be in.

'_22 year old man with liver problems-occupation:student'_

'_58 year old man with lung disesase-occupation: Director of KMB'_

'_46 year old woman with heart pacemake-occupation-'_

Frowning slightly before completing her precursory glance at her documents, Sakura flipped back to the previous folder and took another glance at it.

'_58 year old…KMB…KMB…where had I heard that from?'_

Squinting hard in thought the doctor tapped her ballpoint pen to her chin continuously. This was going to bother her incessantly until she figured out what it meant. Flipping through the following pages, the pink-haired doctor's frown deepened when realizing that the name of the patient had been withheld.

'_At least now I know his rank'_ Sakura thought with a shrug.

Generally, all hospitals held the names of high-ranking people confidential even to the doctors until certain that they'd be treating that particular patient for fear of word spreading.

Humming a bit in anticipation, Sakura shrugged. She'd find out eventually what KMB stood for as soon as she arrived at the given address-which was tomorrow actually. The upside was that in-home patient appointments always meant a day off for the pink-haired doctor. Though the appointment time wasn't that spectacular: 6:30 AM.

'_Jeez…what 58 year old man would get up at 6:30 AM?' _Sakura thought grudgingly. But whatever, all Sakura had to do was diagnose the guy, give him some meds and send him on his merry way. Stretching over to shut off the bedside lamp,, the petite medic settled against her pillows before drifting off to sleep in less than a minute.

* * *

.

.

"Otou-san"

Gracefully folding himself to the knees and bowing, Uchiha Itachi straightened and edged towards his father seated across the room from him. The elder Uchiha shifted slightly before nodding at his son in return.

"Itachi. How has training been?" His deep voice held a dominant tone of authority used on habit now though Itachi could pick up the slight undertone of affection in his father's voice. Lifting his shoulders subtly in answer, the younger Uchiha gathered his thoughts first.

His father already knew of his son's slight reluctance to be in training for the Navy Seals. Therefore, Itachi would always express even a hint of displeasure in training whenever given the opportunity from his father. But these were his father's expectations of him. And he had to fulfill them. With Sasuke already free from serving, Itachi had to ensure that his otouto would not be forced to end up in the same predicament that he was in at the moment. So just shrug and bear through it.

"It was fine."

Knowing that that was as much of a response that he would get from his son, Fugaku Uchiha nodded solemnly. Though his son was unhappy currently, the eldest Uchiha was certain that this was the best future for him. Itachi would be able to take over his position when the time was right. Fugaku just wanted the best for his son. And if Itachi followed this path, he would be guaranteed it.

"Good. This training is to build your rudimentary skills. So learn well and stay focused." Fugaku gruffed out, arms crossed over his puffed out chest.

.

"Yes, Otou-san."

* * *

.

.

Huffing in frustration, Sakura wandered down the same street for the fifth time.

"Ugh!" Finally voiced her displeasure, the pink-haired doctor stomped her foot childishly while hoisting her medical bag higher on her shoulder before taking another glance at the now-crumpled strip of paper that had the old man's address hastily scribbled on it.

"There _is_ no 215!"

Unless she was blind, which she was sure she wasn't, 215 Tokei Street just wasn't here.

Checking her watch, Skura let out an anxious puff of breath.

6:26 A.M.

She had even given herself fifteen extra minutes to find this place!

Looking up and down the street, the frustrated medic located 210 Tokei Street. But it just stopped after that. Eyes scanning the early morning abandoned street, the doctor's emerald green eyes spotted a bright red mailbox.

'_I've seen that mailbox before' _Sakura recalled, having memorized it because of its stand-out color. Having an epiphany moment, the bright pink-haired doctor quickly approached the mailbox and merged left slightly towards one tall building. Craning her neck, Sakura spotted the jutting edge of a grayish stone building behind 210 Tokei.

Smiling in triumph, the petite medic briskly walked towards the building, realizing that the building was so large that it took up the address 211-14 Tokei Street.

"Greedy McFatass…" Sakura mumbled under her breath.

Rounding the corner, Sakura froze dead in her tracks.

It was this building.

The military base.

KMB

_Konoha Military Base_

Mentally slapping herself, Sakura berated herself for not noticing it sooner.

Of course.

She'd seen the KMB letters largely displayed at the front of the double metal gates when she'd seen Shisui.

_Itachi._

Heart skipping a beat, Sakura immediately attempted to push down the rapidly increasing sense of hope that was starting to bubble into her chest.

'_I could see him'_

At the moment, the flustered doctor didn't bother tinkering with the details. But just the possibility of seeing him…

The man she loved.

Maybe.

_Just maybe…_

Lady Luck would grant her wish today.

"Are you here on official business?"

An authoritative and hard-steeled voice rudely snapped her away from her imaginative thoughts.

'_Show some respect. I'm probably here to save you commander's ass'_ Feeling smug for mentally berating the man at the gates, Sakura gave herself an inner pat on the back before realizing that the man was still giving her a hard stare.

It was probably the pink hair.

Bitch.

"Yes, medical business" Handing him her official statement, Sakura smirked a bit, proud (though slightly surprised) that she didn't stammer-not even once!

Giving a superficial glance through the document's contents, the guard waved over another man before handing her back the statement.

"This is Sakura Haruno-san, the chief should be expecting her. Miss Haruno-san, Kataoka-san will show you in."

With a curt bow, the guard disappeared back into the small office outside and with a loud click, the heavy metal gate began to slowly open.

'_Like it's about to swallow me up.' _Sakura thought humorously.

Following the broad-shouldered man, the doctor unconsciously gripped her medical supplies bag harder upon noticing the numerous frequent stared shot in her direction.

"Just ignore them. It's been a while since these sad men have laid eyes on a woman."

The low muttering voice almost made her jump before she looked up at Kataoka-san and laughed once his words had fully processed through her brain.

At least he had a humor bone in him.

Unlike that other guard.

"Not even the medics stationed here?" Sakura asked curiously. Usually medics in military compounds were female, thought there were male counterparts doing the job too.

"Well, I believe our youngest nurse here is about forty years old with one mean uppercut if any men try any funny business…thought I'm sure they wouldn't with the glare she all gives them…" There was a hint of wistfulness in his tone.

Laughing again at his description, Sakura nodded.

"As it should be, these poor nurses shouldn't have to worry about getting their ass grabbed every time they treat someone!"

The pink-haired nurse felt sympathy, having experienced this more than a few times back in the hospitals filled with old deranged men with nothing to lose…and the occasional bachelor.

Having entered the main building, it seemed almost like a giant hideout. The interior walls and floors were all made of deep mahogany wood with numerous closed doors on either side. Much so like a maze. Sakura couldn't even remember the number of turns they had already taken. All she could catch were glimpses of windows as they briskly strode through the halls.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the fast-paced man came to an abrupt stop just before the rounded a corner. Turning towards Sakura, he inclined his head slightly.

"Please wait here while I inform the chief that you have arrived."

Smiling, Sakura nodded, watching Kataoka-san round the corner before turning to her right where a large window was located.

'_At least it lets some light into this dreary place' _

Peering out the window, Sakura was mildly surprised to find a fairly large garden instead of the expected training grounds. The garden was lush and green-it was everything Sakura loved actually. Bamboo shoots covering the perimeter, tall green grass draping the ground and tall thin trees here and there. There were even koi fish in the center of a pond.

'_Itachi had mentioned once that he liked koi…'_

_._

* * *

_._

_._

Having finally finished his short talk with his father, Itachi bowed a final time before exiting from the dimly lit room.

Though the young Uchiha didn't want to admit it, he knew he was starting to become distraught. Each day passing meant one more day close to completion of training. Then afterwards, he was sure that his father would enlist him. Though the idea had been nagging in the back of his mind, Itachi had always thought of dealing with it later. But later was now and he understood that he had to make a final decision.

It was true that his father had secured him a respectable position already which entailed a good pay. In his father's eyes, money and status was happiness. But Itachi had always known better-that these two don't always go hand in hand.

Suddenly his mind wandered to Sakura. Throughout all the letters they've sent, she always showed her support. And he just _knew _that whatever his decision, Sakura would be proud of him. With her in mind, Itachi finally-in the minute of contemplating outside his father's door-knew.

He chose his happiness.

Smiling slightly, Itachi let out a quiet huff of laughter. It was like he was free. He wasn't going to go down this path of violence and war anymore. And no matter what, he would protect Sasuke from this path with his entire being. Sakura was right. He only had one life to live and he was going to live it _his _way. Not his father's way or anybody else's.

Squaring away his shoulders, Itachi walked out of the short hallway, intending to locate Shisui to inform him on his newly made decision.

Just outside the short hall, Itachi nearly bumped into someone if it were not for his sharp reflexes.

"Ah, my apologies Uchiha-san."

"It's quite alright Kataoka-san"

Giving each other a short bow, Itachi departed in the opposite direction that Kataoka-san had come from.

'_Some sort of official military business that never holds interest' _ And with that passing thought, the graceful Uchiha made his way to his cousin.

.

* * *

.

.

Rounding the corner at the cue of the man's beckoning hands, the medic quietly thanked her escort before entering the room.

Seated in the far right corner nearest to an open window was an aging man with mid-length jet black hair though the occasional gray wisp was made apparent. Though having the signs of many years upon his face, the man was very broad-shouldered with a sturdy and muscular build, no doubt from all the constant activity his position entailed. His eyes were firmly set upon her, hands resting on either of his folded knees. Dressed down in a casual yukata, the man seemed to be in a day of relaxation.

Bowing low to the man in front of her, Sakura gave a professional nod.

"Haruno Sakura at your service sir."

Finally having seemed to deem her worthwhile and trustworthy, the man nodded and gestured from her to take a seat.

"Uchiha Fugaku. Chief Commander."

.

Now usually, the words "chief" and "commander" would have normally struck the pink-haired doctor into intimidation. But right now there was only one thing on her mind

_Uchiha._

_He_ was Uchiha Fugaku.

A.k.a. Itachi and Sasuke's father.

'_Oh boy…what a small…small world.' _Sakura thought humorously.

In her few seconds of being frazzled, the petite doctor decided to not make her familiarity with Itachi and Sasuke known. She wanted the eldest Uchiha to respect her medical skills first and foremost before anything else. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was afraid this Uchiha would be quick to form negative judgments of her if he knew she was involved with one of his sons.

Setting down her supplies and rummaging through her bag, the pink-haired medic remained calm as they passed through some basic questions before starting the diagnosis.

About halfway through the appointment as Sakura was checking Uchiha Fugaku's back, she happened to glance out the open window.

"The garden outside is beautiful by the way Uchiha-san" Sakura hushed out, not wanting to disturb the calming aura set upon the room.

Clearing his throat as if almost having fallen asleep, the old Uchiha nodded with a huff of amusement.

I had it planted after incessant requests by my eldest son."

Mouth gaping open like a stunned fish, Sakura was glad that the man's back was facing her.

Quickly recovering and snapping her mouth shut with a 'click', Sakura cleared her throat.

"Oh, really? Did he plan the layout of the garden?"

Giving a curt nod, the Uchiha shifted slightly when a cold ointment was applied to his shoulders.

"I just gave him the funds to construct it-I'm horrible at these design things." The old Uchiha grumbled with a wave of his hand.

Laughing lightly, Sakura finished up the treatment before scribbling down a few prescriptions.

"Well it's a beautiful garden, truly."

.

* * *

.

.

_7/2/2011_

_Dear Itachi,_

_How are you? Haha, I know I ask you this every letter, but I hope you're still doing good. Summer here has been so hot and humid! I can't believe that you're almost done with training. I can't even begin to express how excited I am to see you. I feel like I'm a high school girl going out on her first date or something. I hope once your training ends that we'll be able to spend time together. I keep hoping that we'll be able to read together in the library or go on walks through the parks or just have lunch together. Oh which reminds me, Sasuke once told me that your favorite food was salmon and cold soba. I admit that I've been eating this combination for the past few weeks and it is such a delicious combination! _

_I hope your training is going well also and that you're healthy and injury-free. One time my friend got an ankle injury from soccer and it pulled him out of scouting season for his senior year because it took the injury a while to heal. But no worries, he works in these strategic puzzle solving type of company now which suits him much better in my opinion, haha. _

_The hospital in Kiri has been doing well as well. They run things a lot differently here than they do back at home. It's been nice though being able to get a new perspective on things and everyone's been very welcoming. As exciting and new these experiences are, I think I still love Konoha the most though. Being so far away from home and friends-the hospital even- has made me a bit homesick. But I know it'll all be worth it in the end! Seeing how I've only been gone for a month, I can't even begin to imagine how a year in training would've been like for you. But I know you're really strong and patient. Thanks for always being there for me Itachi. It's funny though now that I think about it. Starting this entire chain of letters in the beginning was to help comfort you instead of me-but I think it has gone the other way around now, haha. I find myself constantly thinking back to the time of the first couple months we started writing to each and thinking how it was such a long time until we would be able to meet. But now everything seems so close within reach that it's really starting to hit me. It's almost like seeing an old friend. I feel like I know you so much but don't in the sense of never having seen you. So with just a couple of months left, I hope you really take care of yourself and Shisui of course haha. Remember to always keep your dreams in mind and aspirations close. I know that whatever you choose to do in the future, that you'll be amazing and wonderful in-how could you not? You're Uchiha Itachi! So until next time my dear friend._

_Love always,_

_Sakura Haruno_

_._

* * *

_._

_._

"Well it's about damn time."

A wide goofy-toothed grin spread upon Shisui's face as he slapped his cousin's back several times, chuckling at Itachi's dead-pan stare.

"You expected this of me Shisui?" Raising a finely arched brow at his elder cousin, the graceful Uchiha pushed off from his leaning position against the best post to take a seat across from Shisui.

Shrugging a bit, Shisui just continued to smile.

"I knew you were always the 'obedient' one", the cousin air-quoted while ignoring the glare sent his way, "but something as big as your future was always in your hands. I knew you were never going to continue this. Fighting just isn't your style….flowers. and rainbows. And fluffy things…._those _are your style."

Laughing as he ducked from an outstretched hand attempting to swat him in the head, Shisui fell back onto his own bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Just make sure to be at my initiation baby cousin." The elder Uchiha murmured softly after a while, eyes still glued to the ceiling with both hands tucked under his head.

Understandingly, the younger Uchiha nodded silently before mimicking his cousin's form.

In this sense, Itachi knew he should be grateful. His own father was the more forgiving and acceptable one out of the two young Uchiha's fathers. Though Itachi was expecting a lot of arguing, sighing, and lectures, he had a feeling deep inside that his father would accept whatever Itachi chose to do. But having Shisui's dad as an uncle meant many family meetings and gatherings to pin-point the man's disposition. And though he was a respectable and proper man, Itachi knew that his uncle had a no tolerance rule in his household. Disobeying Shisui's father was practically asking to be disowned by him. So until Itachi could find a way to help the cousin who had helped him so much in the past, all he could do was stand beside him and offer as much support he could.

"Of course I will Shisui."

.

.

"Itachi!" A hushed voice hissed out, "get your ass back here _this instant!_" Voice dying out into a squeak of protest, Shisui hurriedly scrambled after his cousin that was already swiftly making his way through the darkened halls.

Smirking slightly in amusement, the younger Uchiha held back a chuckle as they continued to turn throughout the halls, intent on exiting the giant complex.

"Do you even have a plan?" Shisui whispered in a panicked manner behind Itachi. Upon receiving no response, Shisui became more rushed in his persuasion.

"We could get caught! Do you know how many security cameras are bugging this place? No? Well me neither! You know why? 'Cause they're so well hidden! That's why!" Shisui's voice was going borderline hysterical even as they advanced through the halls.

"Shisui."

"What!?" The older man cried out.

"…Hn."

"UGH!"

.

* * *

.

.

The night remained quiet, calm and surprisingly quite cool. Having thrown a window open, Sakura relaxed and savored in the cool breeze that shifted through her damp hair, cooling her down from the hot shower she had just finished. Summer nights were the best to look out at Kiri. The lights of night markets could be seen from her high view as villagers bustled about-old couples taking a stroll, young teenage girls shopping for clothes, adults out for a drink. It was Friday and people were just beginning to relax for the weekend and buy up last minute items for the festival that was occurring the next night.

Sighing, Sakura took a sip from her cold sweet tea before crawling up onto the ledge to hang a leg out of the open window. Ears perking up at a small jingle, Sakura turned her head slightly to look at her door. There were sounds of small shuffles and a grunt before silence. Breath held within her lungs, Sakura waited for a few moments before finally a couple stern knocks broke the silence. Clambering down from her seated position by the open window, the pink-haired woman tiptoed to the door. She really wasn't expecting anyone, seeing as she didn't really have any friends from the hospital in Kiri... or in this town in general. Deigning it safe after a few haphazardly thought seconds, Sakura unlatched the locks and heaved open the door.

.

There

Standing in all his tall lean formed glory

Onyx eyes lit with bright joy and subdued happiness –

.

"Sasuke!"

Grin spreading across his perfect features, said-man let out a bark of laughter before scooping up the medic into his arms and taking her for a spin around. Grasping the lapels of his dark cargo jacket, Sakura pulled away and smiled up at him, patting around as if to really believe that he was there standing in front of her. Unable to form coherent words in her mouth, Sakura just laughed while pulling her friend into her apartment.

"It'd be a good start to breath Sak. Or better yet, faint so I can perform some CPR lip-to-lip action on you." The flirtatious young Uchiha said thoughtfully after contemplating, wiggling his eyebrows.

Snapping out of her daze, Sakura scowled and took this opportunity to whack his head for good measure.

"Yea right you perv!" Muttering under her breath, Sakura grudgingly but happily at the same time, pulled Sasuke down towards the couch to sit.

"Why are you here?" Still full of wonderment and disbelief, the medic could only formulate that question to start off.

"Well my work gave me a week off and I thought I'd come down and visit."

"Four days travel just to see me? Awww…Sasuke-poo, you shouldn't have." Sakura said coyly with batting eyelashes.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke leaned back into the cushions.

"Please Sak, I meant my brother and dad. You were an afterthought." Sasuke waved his hand around airily, laughing while ducking from Sakura's floundering arms.

"Kidding! Kidding!" Throwing up his arms in defeat, Sasuke propped his feet up onto the medic's lap.

"Of _course_ I came here for you Sak." Smirking, he propped both hands behind his neck.

"Well look at you…getting all comfortable on my couch already." Sakura scoffed, shoving his heavy legs back onto the floor, though thoroughly pleased and amused at his presence.

"Yea…well, I figured I didn't want to spend my week off in Konoha. The place is too boring right now. All people ever want to do is eat and drink during this month of the year."

Laughing, Sakura just shrugged.

.

After endless hours of catching up with one another, the two finally decided to call it a night. Seeing as how the apartment wasn't originally built for two, the pair of friends just deciding to sleep in the same bed-like the old times.

Climbing onto the bed, Sakura kicked the covers off down to their legs as Sasuke shifted around his pillow before clicking off the lamp. The two moved around slightly for a few minutes before settling into a peaceful quietness in the darkness, the only sound was the occasional sound of the bustling streets below them.

"So the Mid Summer Festival's tomorrow."

Though she couldn't see, she could feel Sasuke turn his head towards her with a finely arched eyebrow directed towards her.

"And?" His voice expectant of her to continue.

"Well, I wasn't actually going to go and all. But since you happened to stop in, I was wondering if you wanted to go?"

Groaning, Sakura could already feel the playful smirk working its way across his lips.

"Like a date?"

"No."

Having been shot down so bluntly, Sasuke just pouted for a few seconds. But upon realizing that it would provoke no answer from his friend, the young Uchiha just huffed out a breath of laughter.

"Fine, sure. We'll go-it should be fun. We can do those silly little games and I'll win one of those fish for you even." Sasuke teased.

Keeping her eyes closed, Sakura extended her arm and smacked him in the ribs, grinning when hearing his grunt of discomfort.

"Serves you right."

Laughing, Sakura turned onto her side and settled down into a peaceful sleep.

.

* * *

.

.

The sound of a soft knocking on the door roused the sleepy medic as she furrowed her eyebrows, wondering if the sound was just in her head. But after a moment of silence, the knocking continued at the same volume level. Groaning slightly, the pink-haired doctor rolled out of bed before grabbing a sweater. Walking down the halls quickly, Sakura didn't even think of who it would be at this time of early morning.

Not bothering to ask who it was, the doctor heaved open the door, enjoying the nice rush of air that whistled past her face as she peered up.

"Itachi?"

Her voice, after seconds of staring, sounded dazed and airy-as if she had been given laughing gas or sleeping medicine.

But she was sure it was him. From the pictures that she's seen and the trademark onyx eyes and raven hair, it was definitely Uchiha Itachi. And he was standing on her doorstep casually.

"Hello Sakura." With a small smirk of amusement, the tall Uchiha leaned down and in one smooth movement, captured the pink-haired woman in a gentle kiss.

Standing frozen for a good ten seconds, Sakura began to slowly respond after gentle coaxing on Itachi's part. She couldn't believe this. She was kissing Uchiha Itachi. The love of her life. Muttering a small sound of relief, Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling him down closer to her, moving their lips together caressingly yet passionately at the same time. The need to be closer to him suddenly came upon her in a rush as she breathed a sharp gulp of air before pressing their forms closer together-so tight it felt almost constricting.

And apparently Itachi thought so too, for he let out a low chuckle before trying to speak in between kisses.

"Sakura…"

Ignoring him, Sakura continued to press their lips together, enjoying the feeling of his soft warm lips moving against hers.

"Sakura." He repeated once again.

"Sak!"

Eyes snapping open, Sakura looked up blearily with confused eyes. Why was she so cold all of a sudden? Looking up, she found herself wrapped around Uchiha Sasuke's still form as he tried prying her tightly wound arms from his upper arms. Absentmindedly, she could hear him laughing slightly while gently soothing her hands until they loosened enough.

Clearing her throat, Sakura looked around in still sort of a daze, heart having dropped to her toes when realizing it was all just a dream.

"Did you try to rape me?" Sakura croaked the first joke that popped into her brain.

Wincing at the barking laugh that the young Uchiha gave, Sakura groaned and shifted to bury her face into her pillow.

"Quite the opposite actually. _You _kissed _me._ In your sleep…kinky." Sasuke added.

"What!?" Sitting upright from her position, Sakura looked down at her friend's relaxed form still lying down on the bed beside her.

"Chill Sak, it was just on the cheek anyways but man, did you have to kiss so hard? It was like you were trying to give me a bruise or something I swear…" Rubbing his cheek thoughtfully, the raven-haired man rose from the bed before making his way to the bathroom located across the room.

"You should really practice your kissing skills though…"

Laughing, the witty man cowered into the bathroom, shutting the door just as a pillow was flung and hit the door with a dull 'thump'.

.

.

Stumbling into the kitchen scratching her pink mess-of-a hair, Sakura sniffed before quickly starting up her morning cups of coffee. Popping a couple slices of bread into the toaster, she massaged her neck a few time, craning her neck around until catching sight of a stack of papers.

'_Oh right, the mail.' _Having forgotten to sift through her mail last night due to her unexpected house guest, she snatched up the small bundle before leaning against the counter and doing a quick run through.

'_Yes.' _Heart raising a bit in spirit when spotting a letter from a certain Uchiha, Sakura let out a wide toothy grin. It definitely helped her mood this morning with the disappointing wake-up call she was greeted with.

Not having wanted to tell Sasuke of her dream, she kept it to herself and tried to sound nonchalant when she had woken up by shooting out a joke. But inside, Sakura felt like a weight had been dropped onto her heart instead of lifted. He was just so real in her dreams-every touch so blissful. It was like those dreams she had of saving patients in the hospital only to wake up and remember that they had passed on the operating table.

Letting out a shaky breath to calm her nerves, the woman took a seat on one of the high stools surrounding the kitchen island before taking a look at the letter.

.

* * *

.

.

_7/16/12_

_Dear Sakura,_

_Your words of encouragement have always been the perfect guidance throughout my months in training. If not for your help, I do not think this year of training would have been possible. And now I must inform you of my recently-made decision. Though you had always encouraged me to do whatever I wished, be whomever I wanted, I had never thought it possible. It was right after a meeting with my father that realization dawned upon me and I made my decision right there. I will no longer stay in this occupation Sakura. I have realized through your help that life is, indeed, much too short to live the life of someone else. I do not know how my father will react or what the repercussions will entail, but I am willing to accept all of the consequences if it means I can live out my dreams. And all of this wouldn't have happened if it were not for you. You don't just save lives bordering on life or death, you saved mine from running down a path I never should have started in the beginning. So thank you Sakura. I have decided to pursue another occupation when my training has complete and I return to Konoha. _

_But until then, I am quite aware that the Mid-Summer Festival is rapidly approaching. Though my calculations might be off, I hope that this letter arrives to you before the festival. It was my hope that I would be able to meet you at the festival. And if I know you at all, you must be worrying that it is going out of my way to meet you. But not at all-you have made me quite daring now these days and I am thoroughly pleased by the new adventures I have taken because of it. If, however, this letter is received after the festival, then my sincerest apologies for not writing back sooner. The thought of meeting at the festival had been a last minute idea. But if the festival is approaching, I hope to meet you on Ikinawa Street near the flower vendor. I shall be wearing a black yukata with white leaves printed on top. I will be waiting regardless the situation and will try not to hold any expectations. But I know that I am holding onto a big part of hope that has risen inside my chest. So until then, take care Sakura._

_With Love,_

_Itachi Uchiha_

* * *

_._

_._

"Oh..." With a muffled gasp, Sakura covered her mouth with her small hand as she reread the letter over and over, making sure that she had read correctly.

"Sak?" Appearing by the kitchen entrance, Sasuke continued running a towel through his messy raven locks before giving a weird stare at his pink-haired friend.

"If you keep doing that, you'll look like one of those large slabs of fish that Yamawa-san hangs up in his fish shop every morning."

Frowning when that didn't even _hint_ out a response from her, the tall man scooted over to her and read the letter that she wordlessly raised so he could read. After a minute of quick scanning over the letter, the Uchiha man snorted

"Wow, he's gotten so cheesy and Romeo about his letters now-ow!" Wincing when a sharp pinch was given to his cheek, Sasuke scowled before ruffling Sakura's hair.

"Well, I guess you'll get to finally meet my brother…though I don't see what's so special about him." Sasuke grumbled under his breath before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"I don't have anything to wear…" Sakura mumbled out dazedly, only snapping out of her reverie when Sasuke groaned in agitation.

"Oh kami Sak, we are _not_ going through this whole 'outfit-choosing, shoe-matching, makeup-perfected ordeal. No." Sasuke quite stubbornly declared.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Sakura looked away with a huff.

"Fine, be that way. Then you can stay here all day while I go out looking for my outfit. Sounds good?"

Mouth opening to give a smart-ass retort, Sasuke was stopped as Sakura quickly raised her palm towards him, effectively killing the words that were about to make their way out of his mouth.

"Don't care." Smirking at Sasuke's even more bewildered face, Sakura 'hmphed' before hopping off her stool and heading towards the bedroom, humming down the halls.

.

* * *

.

"For the hundredth time Sakura, you look fine." Sasuke groaned before flopping back down onto the couch. Thirty minutes had already passed, and that was just with Sakura trying to _choose_ which sandal would fit her outfit better.

"Nobody can even see your shoes!"

It was true!

"Well this is really important Sasuke", a muffled voice came through the bedroom door, "it's not like I'm gonna, you know, meet the _man of my dreams_ or anything!" The last of the sentence enunciated very clearly for emphasis.

"Sak, he'll love you no matter what." Sasuke said softer this time, having decided to lie back down onto the couch as he stared up at the ceiling.

And he really did believe it was true. His aniki would love her no matter what appearance she was. I mean, he'd seen he with bed hair, morning breath, and swollen eyes but he thought the pink-haired woman was still beautiful.

"You really think so?" A soft voice sounded above his head.

Shooting up, Sasuke gave a long stare up and down, smirking when a light red flush appeared on her cheeks.

"Yea." He whispered back.

.

* * *

.

.

"Sasuke, are you sure he's coming?" Sakura tried to keep her worry at bay.

They had arrived within the first hour of the festival, making their way towards the flower vendor on the street Itachi had said it would be located on. But upon not finding a long raven-haired man there yet, the two decided to take a stroll up and down the street first-with Sasuke basically having to drag the petite doctor away from the flower vendor.

But it had already been four hours now with the pair having passed time by playing kid games, eating dinner and dessert, and taking a walk. And Sakura was sure she hadn't missed him since she had forced Sasuke to stay well within sight of the flower stand.

"He'll be here." And even that sounded like a lie to his own ears.

.

.

But with the festival almost coming to a close, Sakura was almost convinced now that he wasn't going to come. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Sasuke tried to comfort the woman.

"He probably just got caught up back at the base you know?"

Sakura nodded.

"No, no. I completely understand. I mean, he would've had to sneak out of the base in order to get here so it's really okay if he couldn't make. Two more months. I'll keep waiting for that." Looking up at Sasuke, she gave him a brilliant smile before letting Sasuke start to steer her away.

.

* * *

.

.

He was extremely late much to his irritation. It had taken a while to get past the guards this time since they were on heavy guard now to watch out from any drunken villagers from the festival who decide to wander towards the complex.

Keeping his strides long and paced, the Uchiha let out a small smile and quickened his pace when turning onto the street. Though the festival was supposed to start coming to an end, the long street was still heavily packed with villagers in colorful kimonos, couples strolling down together as kids ran around their feet holding bags of popcorn, fish, and dango.

Heart beating just a bit faster, Itachi made his way down the street swiftly, eyes lighting upon the colorful flowers surrounding the vendor. Arriving at the cart, Itachi looked around, trying to spot a head of pink-hair. Buying a stem of dandelions, Itachi calmed himself before scanning the crowd, not wanting to admit that his hopes were sinking lower and lower.

Maybe the letter hadn't gotten to her yet. Maybe it was stuck at the post office right now and Sakura wouldn't get his letter until tomorrow.

So many maybes.

Only able to blame himself for raised hopes and late ideas, Itachi let out a small sigh before heading back down the street.

Halfway through his slow journey down the street, Itachi caught a flash of bright color in the corner of his eye.

Looking towards the left, he could make out a small spot of pink towards the end of the street bobbing up a down.

_Sakura _

The thought echoed through his mind.

Trying to make his way through the crowd, Itachi was hindered in his progress by the many kids and adults bunching around him.

With patience, the elder Uchiha shuffled through until within twenty feet of her.

"Sakura!" He called out to her.

With bated breath, Itachi saw her ears perk up before slowly turning as if not quite believing what she heard.

.

* * *

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A/N: Hii! haha, sooo sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger...I swear it wasn't going to be like that at first but then i thought it would fit the story better! I'm in such a rush to get this chapter out so i haven't really looked it over yet. So i'm so sorry for any grammatical errors and I promise i'll come back and spell-check through once I get back! Thank you again to everybody who keeps up with my story and for all the support you guys have given me! So please leave a comment on what you guys think! Thank you again!

Love,

chicken 3


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